


Unnamed but not Unarmed

by Shadow_Paladin



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Black Organization (Meitantei Conan), F/M, Gen, Gunshot Wounds, Injury Recovery, Kidnapping, Past Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:28:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 42,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22057066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shadow_Paladin/pseuds/Shadow_Paladin
Summary: Years ago, the Black Organization decided to murder Kuroba Toichi in his home rather than during one of his magic shows. This one decision changed everything. Now the past is starting to catch up with the present... and none of them are prepared for what they'll find.
Relationships: Kudou Yukiko/Kudou Yuusaku, Kudou Yuusaku & Kuroba Touichi, Kuroba Chikage/Kuroba Touichi, Kuroba Touichi & Nakamori Ginzou, Satou Miwako/Takagi Wataru
Comments: 23
Kudos: 115





	1. The Night was Dark but Warm

**Author's Note:**

> The mature rating and graphic depictions of violence warning are for references and brief mentions of past torture. No extreme gore will be described in this work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaitou KID's POV

At first glance, the building appeared empty. No lights, no voices, no movement. The only change visible at all was the migration of shadows as the wind shifted branches in the moonlight. How unexpected. 

_ Did they get the wrong date? The references were more obvious than the typical riddle, pending the probable absence of a certain nuisance. If they didn’t misunderstand it there could be a trap waiting, but usually they’re not this creative… _

He shook his head, internally waving his musings away. Now was not the time to get distracted. Whether or not there was something waiting was irrelevant this close to the main event, plans were in place and he was ready to begin. He could handle whatever they decided to send his way, he always had. Besides, it was more exciting this way. He loved a good surprise and a little variety never hurt anyone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fanfic! Please feel free to comment and let me know what you think! Fun fact: the title of this chapter was originally the first line. I wanted to open with a scenery description but couldn't think of anything else besides "the night was dark but warm". My sister nearly died laughing at it. Hopefully a new chapter will be added weekly, as long as my writing stays on track.


	2. Armed and Dangerous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ginzo Nakamori's POV

_ It’s too hot for this shit. _

His collar was already soaked and the heist hadn’t even started yet. Who held a heist in Japan in July anyway? At this rate his men were going to pass out from the heat long before KID showed. That damned thief was going to get it when he got his hands on him. At this point his only saving grace was the fact that his heists occurred in the middle of the night. If it was this bad nearing midnight he could only imagine what it would be like mid-day. 

_ Of course, it wouldn’t be bad at all if the damned museum AC was working. Need to fix the circulation system my ass. No museum would let their works sit out in conditions like this, the director is definitely doing it to screw with us! _

He knew he should have demanded the entire staff evacuate the property as soon as he saw the Kaitou KID-themed key chain. You’d think a Museum Director would be a little more concerned about keeping his star attraction safe and making sure the police had a clear working environment to protect it. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. He checked his watch, 2327 hours. 

“Keep sharp!”, he called. “3 minutes.” His men perked up and backs went ramrod straight. He allowed himself a small smirk. The conditions may have been terrible but his men were no pushovers. They’d gone over the plan for capture twice that afternoon and everyone was ready to give it all they had. Kaitou KID was good but they were going to be better this time. He had a feeling about tonight and for once he was determined to have a different outcome to the weird game of tag he normally performed with the thief. 

_ This time I’ll have him! _

His watch beeped 2330 right as the lights went out. 

“Stay alert! Unit 1 get the backup lights on and all others move to your positions!” His orders paused as a loud laugh rang through the open room. 

“No need for that gentlemen, a showman never performs in the dark!” The voice cheerfully called out, projecting so everyone present could hear as a single beam of light came down from the ceiling to rest on a figure of white standing on top of the Snake Eye’s display case. Wait a minute. 

_ He’s on the motherf***ing case!  _ He almost didn’t realize he vocalized the thought as well. 

“My, my, Inspector! You really should watch your language! You’re not setting a very good example for your poor subordinates. Imagine the terrible habits they’re picking up…”, the thief all but sang as he spread his arms out to his sides. 

It was at that moment that the ceiling disappeared. 

_ What the f***! _

“You know,'' KID mused aloud, “It’s been almost 2 years to the date since you welcomed me back to the stage. To thank you, all of you, for your continued dedication and appearances to my shows I decided we have to celebrate!”

“CELEBRATE?!? WHO WANTS TO CELEBRATE?”, he roared. “AND WHO WELCOMED YOU BACK! YOU SHOULD HAVE STAYED AWAAGGHHHH”

He choked mid-rant as the first burst of confetti petals rained from where the ceiling used to be. He pulled a handful of petals from his face and mouth as his men tried to keep a visual on KID through the haze of color. 

“Well this is nice”, KID commented with his signature crazed grin wide on his face, “But I feel like it’s still missing something…”

“Missing something?” He asked as he moved towards the display case. KID kept the grin but didn’t move as he approached. He was almost next to him, and was slightly concerned by the lack of any attempt to flee, when a cloud of glitter was thrown in his face. 

He desperately tried to scrape the glitter from his eyes as KID hopped down from the case, emerald in hand. The thief smiled at him as he threw himself to the side, trying to grab KID’s arm. He was still playing some bizarre game of Keep-away, with his men preparing for their standard pile-on-the-bandit move when a loud ‘ping’ echoed to his right. The sudden sound of metal striking metal drew his attention towards the entrance door he originally guarded and the man now standing there. 

It was obvious at first glance the man was not one of the officers. The solid black overcoat and fedora hid most of the body and obscured the face. In fact, the only distinguishing features he could make out were a slightly beaked nose and large horseshoe mustache. The whole picture the stranger presented was so cartoonish he would have laughed… if it wasn’t for the 9 mm semi-automatic currently being pointed towards KID.

The room grew silent, his officers noticing the situation and newcomer. 

_ This is bad. Very bad. The task force had long since forgone taking any type of weapon to Kaitou KID heists. The thief was known internationally for being non-violent and had proven to put the safety of others, his pursers included, above the heist itself when necessary. Besides, with the large crowds attracted to the heists any kind of stray shot could find itself in a civilian rather than the intended target. His officers carried tasers but they wouldn’t hold up against a gun, especially when the gunman could open fire long before they got close enough to USE said tasers.  _

He was pulled from his assessment as Kaitou KID turned to face the gunman. KID’s eyes narrowed just barely enough to be noticeable and his smile seemed to grow stiffer as the seconds passed. For someone known to be cheerful and unshakable, the look appeared extremely foreign on the thief. 

“Well look at this”, Kaitou KID spoke somewhat soothingly. “Normally I love having an extended audience, the bigger the better in fact, but I’m afraid no extra parties were invited to this event. Perhaps…” 

“That’s enough out of you!” The gunman cut KID off. His voice echoed through the silent exhibit room. “No one moves, not one step or I’ll open fire!” 

From the corner of his eye he saw KID’s teeth clench. “Snake.” The thief spoke in a somber voice for what was possibly the first time in their shared history. “Think about the situation you’re putting yourself in right now. The attention this will bring…”

The gunman spoke again, more calm and less like a homicidal maniac. “The attention means nothing if they can’t locate me afterwards. I’ve hunted you down and put an end to you 6 times and you just don’t stay dead! If our previous methods weren’t working then you’ve forced my hands. I have no problem handling you myself if it’ll finish the job.” 

_ Scratch that. The guy was still plenty homicidal. And dangerous. He clearly has no fear of being arrested and there’s no telling what he’ll do.  _

“There’s no need for that”, he said keeping his voice low and firm. “No one is forcing you to do anything. Put the gun down and we can work through this.”

_ Whatever THIS is. It certainly wasn’t his best attempt at talking a criminal down but he couldn’t let the situation progress any more than it already had. They had to defuse this now before this guy really did open fire on them.  _

He had no intention of letting this ‘Snake’ shoot the Kaitou KID. 

The smug (and slightly sick) grin Snake had been aiming in KID’s direction dropped from his face as he turned to look in his direction. Snake bared his teeth. “You think  _ you _ have any say in this!” Snake spat. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with! You couldn’t force me to do  _ anything _ if you  _ tried _ !”

The next 20 seconds seemed to pass in slow motion. He watched, unmoving and only slightly surprised, as the gun moved from Kaitou KID to his own torso. A flash of white moved suddenly in the corner of his eye. He saw the moonlight highlight the bullet through the glass windows as it left the barrel of the gun, waiting for the impact. There was nowhere he could go. 

That is, until an elbow jarred him in the side as Kaitou KID leapt in front of him and dropped to the floor almost instantaneously. He looked down at the loose white fabric from his cape as it stuck between them. Chaos erupted in the room as several of his officers started moving towards Snake. The gunman himself was already fleeing through the entrance and into the dimly lit hallway beyond. He watched as Officers Hamada and Monomi followed before directing his attention to the man on the floor in front of him.  _ The man who had taken a bullet for him _ . Red stains were spreading out on the white fabric and blood was beginning to pool underneath him. He pulled off the thief’s jacket, searching for the gunshot wound but everything was red. So much red…

In the distance he heard sirens start to blare, rapidly sounding louder as they approached. God help them, he prayed desperately, that help arrives quickly. He didn’t know what he would do if Kaitou KID, his arch enemy, died saving his life. 


	3. Tales from the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where a magician visits the police headquarters and the history of KID is discussed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kuroba Toichi POV

It was fair to say he was concerned. He’d known, of course, that there was a Kaitou KID heist the previous night and (though he was encouraged not to attend them) he was always sent the heist recordings as soon as they were available. It was now approaching the 12 hour mark and there was  _ nothing _ . No police statements, no press statements, not even gossip. 

_ Something happened last night. And the fact that no one was talking about it meant it was big. That Ginzo hadn’t come home yet and he’d been called to the police headquarters meant it was nothing good. _

He approached the front desk to get his visitor’s pass when a sharp “Kuroba-san” sounded from across the lobby. He turned as Supervisor Shintaro walked over to meet him. The supervisor looked as somber as he’d ever seen him. “I’m sorry to call you in so suddenly but I need you to come with me. It’s a delicate situation and we don’t have much time.”

He gave a sharp nod and followed the supervisor to the elevators. 

“I don’t suppose you can tell me what is so urgent,” he said quietly, taking care to make sure the other officers weren’t listening in.

“Not here.” The rest of the ride passed in silence as did the walk through several hallways to the 2nd Division’s portion of the building. They continued through the main area of desks to the conference rooms along the far wall. Shintaro unlocked the largest room and led him in. Most of the Kaitou Kid Task Force were present but it was one officer in the back corner that immediately caught his eye.

Ginzo looked sick. It was the kind of sickness he hasn’t seen since looking in the mirror after… He rushed across the room and grabbed Ginzo by the shoulders. “What’s happened? Is Aoko okay?” He had to force the words out, momentarily terrified of the answer he would get. 

Ginzo slowly brought his head out of his hands to look at him. “Aoko’s fine”, he croaked. “It wasn’t… We didn’t…” The stutters died off as Ginzo started to stare into the distance again, becoming unresponsive to his prompting. He looked back at Shintaro for an explanation. 

“The heist last night… didn’t go quite as planned.”

“Kaitou 1412’s heists rarely do”, he pointed out dryly. 

_ Where are they going with this… _

“Kaitou KID wasn’t the problem”, Shintaro continued. “An unknown assailant showed up on scene and interrupted the heist. He was armed and, based on comments he made, there to… well kill KID.”

“KID is dead?”, he asked, shocked to his core. The man was the bane of his existence, a reminder of all he had lost and why, but that didn’t mean he wanted him murdered. 

“The assailant didn’t seem bothered by the fact the task force was still present on the scene”, Shintaro continued, as if he hadn’t asked a question, “and was in fact preparing to shoot Inspector Nakamori when…”

“He took the bullet”, Ginzo suddenly spoke up. He turned to look at his friend. “The bastard had swung the gun in my direction and shot when KID jumped in front of me. He took the bullet. The blood…” Ginzo stopped speaking and stared at his hands. 

He swung on his heels to face Shintaro only to find the superintendent walking over to stand by Ginzo, putting a hand on his shoulder. The superintendent answered his unasked question quietly, as if trying not to agitate the inspector. “We had just received word before I called you. KID is out of surgery and should be out of danger. The bullet passed through his mid-forearm and lodged near his collarbone. They managed to pull the bullet out without hitting anything vital and it appears it lost enough velocity before entering the chest that it didn’t shatter the collarbone either. With time and without any complications setting in, he should be able to make a full recovery.”

He took a minute to absorb this information. “But he will be okay?” he asked to confirm, trying to set his thoughts in order. 

Shintaro paused, “The surgeon told us normally he’d be optimistic considering the limited damage and the surgery’s success, but KID lost a lot of blood before the paramedics arrived. He also went into shock both in the ambulance and during surgery. He’s still unconscious, so the doctors are holding off on an official declaration until he comes to. Fortunately, his age and healthy physique work in his favor for a faster recovery.”

_ His age? _

He voiced the thought aloud. “Why is his age a good factor?”

Shintaro took a deep breath. “Both the primary surgeon and the assigned doctor gave their professional determination: based on bone length and general growth characteristics the likelihood that…”

“He’s a kid”, Ginzo interrupted. He no longer looked gray, that was good. He did, however, look absolutely pissed. Not as good. “Literally a f***ing brat. 15-16 years old. 17  _ at the most _ . I’ve spent the last 2 years chasing a  _ child  _ who goes out in the middle of the night to  _ steal _ famous gemstones.  _ What teenager does that?  _ Who  _ allows _ their child to do that?”

Shintaro attempted to force Ginzo to settle down as he took a step back. He all but fell into a free chair at the end of the conference table.

16\.  _ How often had he debated ignoring his orders and dealing with the upstart Kaitou KID himself? He’d considered the new KID a man who had no business choosing to use an identity when he knew NOTHING about what it stood for. He’d been angry, outright furious, when he was called about that first heist notice. When he saw the man in action for the first time. Ginzo had stood by him, watching his reaction. Whatever it was that he saw, he didn’t let him out of his sight for the rest of the night. That very morning the orders came down that he was to be nowhere near the supposed “Kaitou KID” or his heists. He’d spent months dwelling on the situation, allowing his anger and disgust to fester until the day when he eventually DID meet the thief. He’d never imagined that… all this time it was actually a CHILD… Why didn’t he see it? Why hadn’t he DONE SOMETHING? _

A hand on his shoulder jerked him out of his misery. “If you’re ready Kuroba-san, we’ll begin the meeting.” Shintaro stated. Ginzo was now in the seat next to him, eyebrows still drawn down but silent. He nodded and Shintaro took the chair to his other side at the head of the table. The other officers quickly took available seats and Shintaro cleared his throat. 

“This meeting will now commence. As you already know we are here to discuss the criminal Kaitou 1412, known alias: Kaitou KID. As the superintendent of the 2nd Division I have been granted full authorization rights over this matter by the General Superintendent.” Shintaro took a breath. 

“The situation is as follows: last night, during the Kaitou 1412 heist at the Tokyo National Museum an unknown gunman entered the scene with a 9 mm semi-automatic weapon. When the officers present attempted to talk the gunman into surrendering their weapon, shots were fired at a member of the task force. Kaitou 1412 jumped in front of him to take the shot. The gunman fled the scene, pursued by two officers. The officers lost sight of him in a large park 3 blocks from the scene. A BOLO has been released but at this time no sightings have been reported.”

One of the younger officers raised a hand. “Are we to join the search for the assailant?”

Shintaro shook his head curtly. “No. This force is to be placed on a rather… unique assignment. The matter of the criminal is going to be headed by the 1st Division whereas the 2nd Division will take up the matter of Kaitou 1412.” Nearly all of the officers drew up in their seats. 

“Kaitou 1412 is out of surgery with expectations of a full recovery. We collected samples at the hospital to be sent for identification. So far, fingerprints have yielded no results and do not appear to be in a database. We will have to rely on DNA and facial recognition to come back with a match. However, the surgeons did confirm the thief’s age range to be between 15 and 17 years old.”

Low mumbling began spreading throughout the room. He flicked his eyes down the table. Several officers, it seems, did not believe what they were hearing. 

_ He didn’t blame them. _

A senior officer spoke up. “That shouldn’t be possible sir. The Kaitou KID first appeared 18 years ago. Unless he was merely a replacement for this particular heist he is not near old enough to have any relation to KID.”

Shintaro nodded. “Indeed it is impossible for this teenager to be the first KID. However, Inspector Nakamori has confirmed that all actions, speech patterns, and movements were identical to previous interactions since the reappearance of Kaitou 1412. 2 years ago would make the boy just old enough to get away with acting older through creative disguising.”

Another officer interjected. “Is it possible sir that the previous KID, assuming no relation to the current, is at all responsible for last night’s events?”

Shintaro took a deep breath and nodded in his direction. “That is not a possibility and I have asked the original to join us. Hopefully we can use  _ all _ of KID’s background to make sense of this.”

He could feel every eye in the room turn in his direction. Most in shock, a few unsurprised, and 2 pairs apologetic. He raised his head.

“18 years ago I stumbled on a robbery and attempted murder in progress in Paris and interfered.” He started slowly. “I was in costume for an upcoming show and witnesses at the scene mistook me as one of the thieves. They spread word of a “phantom thief in white” along working with the men arrested when they were questioned by reporters later. After returning to Japan I thought it would be humorous to incorporate the incident into future magic shows and sent the first heist riddle to a popular venue that I routinely held performances at. I was going to show up and perform as KID and let the audience have a good laugh at it. Several gemstone enthusiasts and magic fans spread their speculations based on the previous information from France and the new notice I sent. Their speculations became the reputation of a true, uncatchable thief.”

He paused. “I held the ‘heist’ as intended, taking the gem but returning it to the owner before leaving. The original plan was to wait a few days before hosting another show honoring myself as a wannabe thief. Instead, I ran into a man in a dark overcoat and hat while exiting the roof of the venue.

He did not give me a name but said he was a member of an organization with great interest in my particular… skill set. They were searching for a special gemstone and needed an individual capable of retrieving the various candidates, as they were unsure of its true identity. I asked for more information but all he would detail was that item in question was supposedly a double gemstone, when held up to moonlight the inner gem would glow red and that was the gem they wanted. My assistant was on the way to meet me and was carrying recording devices from the show, so I tried to keep the man there until he arrived. I expressed my concerns that the police would eventually catch if so many jewel heists were being held in similar conditions but the man laughed. He assured me that they had several men ready to derail that problem, should it come up and that no evidence pointing in their direction would ever be seen. At that moment we heard my assistant coming up the stairs and the man took off.”

He took another deep breath. “I made my own record of the run-in but chose not to go to the police immediately, considering the mention of multiple moles. Instead I planned another heist and made discreet inquiries with some of my more scrupulous prop suppliers to see if they could find more information about this supposed organization. The week before my next heist, 2 of those suppliers were found dead.” He swallowed. “It was not a coincidence.”

“Following my second heist the man appeared on the roof as he had previously. He asked for my answer, if I would work with them. When I refused he shot me at point blank range.”

Several of the officers jerked in their seats, looking him over as if searching for the bullet wounds.

“Fortunately I had a steel prop from the show still on me and the bullet lodged in the plate instead of me. But the force knocked me off the roof and onto a neighboring building and the man left, assuming I was dead. Following that, I believed I had all the information I needed. They were armed, they were dangerous, they had police officers on their payroll, and they had 2 deaths that I knew of to their name. I couldn’t go to the police but I couldn’t let them go unnoticed either. Ultimately I decided to go with a third option. I’d stay a phantom thief and continue focusing on gems that fit their criteria. All stolen items would be returned and no one was to be harmed, but if the police kept trying to arrest me while this organization was involved eventually someone would discover them.”

Chaos broke out in the room as he finished. Some officers were staring at him with their mouths hanging open. Others were yelling at the ceiling. One slightly younger detective was shaking the man next to him while violently whispering, “I  _ knew _ it! I told you only Kuroba-san was good enough! I  _ knew it _ !”

Shintaro banged a fist hard on the table. “Get ahold of yourselves! What are you,  _ animals _ ?” The room grew quiet again. 

Finally, Officer Hamada held up a hand and asked, “If those were your reasons for becoming KID, and the organization was never caught seeing as none of us knew about it… why did KID retire?”

He swallowed hard. Thinking about what happened… about  _ him _ … it never got easier. “You never caught them. But someone else caught  _ me _ .”

Hamada-San and several others didn’t seem to get it but Monomi began to frown. It seemed he’d read the newspapers back then.

“My house blew up.” He said with a dead voice. Ginzo laid a hand on his arm. “My wife and I were pulling groceries from the car in the driveway. We had a few cuts and glass shards but no permanent injuries. Kaito…” he lowered his head, unable to look at anyone. “My 8-year-old son was in his bedroom at the time. The top half of the house was almost completely obliterated.”

There was nothing else to say.  _ My fault.  _ All  _ my fault. I could’ve stopped. At the beginning. After that first heist. Before the first heist. Anytime in the two years after. I kept going. I wouldn’t stop because part of it was  _ fun _. I could’ve given it to the police and washed my hands of it. I could’ve done  _ anything _ differently and Kaito wouldn’t be… _

He couldn’t go on. Luckily, Ginzo seemed to understand and stepped in.

“The explosion was determined to have been caused by a gas leak in the furnace by the arson squad.” Ginzo continued. “I was the head of the Kaitou KID Task Force, but I also knew the Kuroba’s personally. Our children were friends. After the incident, Kuroba-san came in to see me and Superintendent Shintaro with the evidence and recordings he had. He also told us that he and his wife had been thinking about selling the house and had it privately inspected 3 weeks prior. There was  _ no _ leak in the furnace at the time. We concluded that the explosion was intentionally started and only one group had any reason to perform such an act.”

The officers got the picture now. Shintaro took over. “Considering the circumstances and high profile of the case, the Superintendent General and Public Safety Bureau was brought in. After discussion, it was decided that his knowledge and capabilities made him a strong asset, although it was impossible for him to continue as Kaitou 1412. So long as the thieving stopped it was better for us to keep him out of jail. Whether the organization really thought he was Kaitou KID or not, they seemed to go underground after the incident. We had nothing to go on until KID reappeared 2 years ago.”

Shintaro gave the entire room a stern eye. “To be clear, the Kurobas and all affiliates were  _ carefully  _ re-evaluated after KID resurfaced and they have all been cleared. They have no involvement with the 2nd Kaitou KID and can only offer their expertise and speculations in this matter.”

The superintendent was about to continue when there was a knock on the door. Nakamori’s second, Detective Yamabuki, entered the room. Ginzo all but jumped to his feet. 

_ Yamabuki must have been one of the officers stationed at the hospital.  _

“Sir” Yamabuki greeted out-of-breath. “Kaitou KID is conscious.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thank you to KudoIrene for the comment they left (it was a relief to know I'm not completely trash at writing haha). I was planning to wait until Tuesday or Wednesday to upload this so I could make more headway on Chapter 4 but I didn't have the heart after reading their comment.


	4. A Decision Made

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ginzo's POV

_ A mountain was bearing down on his chest. An endless wave of darkness floated in front of his eyes. Or maybe he was the one floating. So tired. Can’t move. Was he supposed to move? Everything was fuzzy, too fuzzy to think. But something else was coming up now. It burned away the haze, made him think clearly. He struggled to control his body. To open his eyes. The darkness started to fall away, replaced by blinding light as they finally cooperated. The sensation was building. He knew this feeling like a bad friend.  _

_ Pain. _

++++++++++++++++++++++++

He gazed down at the brat as a nurse adjusted the hospital bed. He looked even smaller now than he had the night before. Dark brown hair stuck to the pillow in odd places and the white of the hospital bed sheets washed out his skin, making him appear pale. Although that could also be a leftover effect of the blood-loss. He was a pretty good looking kid, even if the IV lines coming from beneath the sheets and the constant beeping of machines made him seem lifeless. 

“Ginzo.” He turned to face the door as Toichi reappeared from the hallway. It seemed he had finished talking to the doctor. 

“He was semi-conscious about an hour ago,'' Toichi reported. “The doctor says he was awake and moving fingertips but was too dazed by the medication to speak or stay awake. They reduced the dosage of the heavier pain medication so he should fully come to any time now. The doctors are going over some information with Shintaro-san but I expect he’ll join us soon.” 

He gave a grim laugh. “Heavy pain medication. A kid his age shouldn’t need any pain medication.” He shook his head. “What the hell did he think he was doing?”

Toichi gave a rueful smile but didn’t say anything. They continued to watch the boy in silence until Superintendent Shintaro entered the room. He looked unnerved.

_ Shintaro-san worked on the bomb squad before he transferred to Division 2. It’s nearly impossible to scare him. He only has two settings: normal and pissed.  _

__ “The doctor just finished going through Kaitou 1412’s injury report with me. The bullet passed completely through the right arm and into his chest, landing in the pectoralis muscle directly underneath the collarbone. He’s lucky the bullet lost velocity moving through the arm or the damage would have been much worse. The muscle should heal on its own. They are more concerned with the blood loss-induced shock. A blood transfusion removed the immediate threat but he should be eased back into physical activity slowly, taking in excess fluids to naturally replace those he lost. Overall we’re looking at 3 weeks for a complete recovery.”

He frowned. “They actually removed the bullet? Normally they’d leave it alone if it wasn’t going to cause more damage.”

The Superintendent nodded. “Normally they would but they were a little concerned about how close it was to the clavicle. With someone so… active it was better to be completely removed. Besides, they needed it out for the MRI.”

“MRI? Why did he need an MRI?” Toichi demanded.

“While looking over his x-rays they found evidence of multiple healed broken bones. With someone this young… it’s almost always a sign of abuse. It’s their procedure to check for other unhealed damage in cases like this, hence the MRI.”

Toichi didn’t appear to like where this was going. Neither did he. “What did they find?”, he asked quietly.

“Multiple bone fractures throughout the arms and legs. All occurring during different time frames based on new bone growth. There is trace internal scarring in the lungs and burn scars on the backs of the knees. We know that no injuries to explain this kind of damage happened during a heist, so unless this kid is really unlucky… The most likely explanation for such varied injuries is torture.”

Toichi leaned back against the wall as Shintaro sighed. He said nothing for a moment, letting the information sink in. 

_ Burns. Internal scarring. The lungs and the most sensitive part of the legs.  _ Multiple _ broken bones. All spread over  _ years _ of… A child. The same age as Aoko. He should be going to school, getting detention with his antics. Going out with friends. And someone’s been using him as a pincushion instead. Their personal punching bag. God… _

“God d*mnit! F***ing sh*tting son of a b****!” His tirade continued out loud for so long that he lost track while Toichi and Shintaro both stared with large eyes. “Godd*mn that…”

“Do you really talk to your daughter with that mouth?” 

The hoarse voice completely cut him off, seeing as he was still facing Toichi and Shintaro and neither of them had opened their mouths. They all turned towards the hospital bed. KID looked back at them with slightly lowered eyelids. “Think you can get the lights? They burn a little.” 

He jolted, moving towards the lightswitch towards the door only to realize he had no idea what switch was for the lights. He let another curse fly. 

The thief gave a low chuckle. “I always did like listening to you Keibu. You expand my vocabulary more with every get together.”

“We  _ do not _ have  _ get togethers _ !” he roared, stepping back towards the bed. He forced himself to calm down.

_ Remember, even if  _ this one _ is an antagonizing little sh*t there are still other people in this hospital who need to rest. _

He took a deep breath and moved to the side of the bed next to Toichi. His friend was currently giving the thief a sweeping glance, head to what was visible of his feet under the blankets. 

_ What was he supposed to do now? There was nothing in the police handbook about a situation quite like this! _

His body seemed to move before his mind caught on, realizing what he’d done only after hearing the harsh click of the metal locks. He’d handcuffed KID to the hospital bed.  _ What was he thinking? _

KID looked at him, looked down at his left wrist, and then back up at him with wide eyes. His mouth dropped open a bit, gaping in air for a moment before laughter erupted. 

“Oh my god. You… you really… you’re something else Keibu!” He had literal tears in his eyes. “It’s always nice to know how highly you think of my skills~”

Shintaro spoke as the laughter began to die down. “Kaitou 1412. Do you know where you are?” 

“Ekoda General. Closest hospital to the museum.” the boy answered. 

“Good. Do you know why you’re here?”

“Got shot. Hurts like a bitch and must have looked like it too considering the amount of blood I left covering the good Keibu’s suit.” He shrugged. “Happens to the best of us.”

He looked down at his suit for the first time since before the heist started.  _ D*mnit. He’s right, I’m covered in it from when I put pressure on the wound. _

Shintaro’s mouth pinched in a little. “I’m choosing to ignore that last comment for the moment. And your name is…?”

“None of your business!” KID threw out with a wide smile. He was starting to have a bad feeling about how this conversation was going to end. 

“Boy.” Kaitou KID stiffened a bit before turning his head to face Toichi. It was the first noise he’d made since KID had awoken. “This is serious. You were shot yesterday, and it’s not something that will heal overnight. They have officers posted at every entrance and exit to this building and there’s no possible way for you to escape with only one arm. I checked. You’re not getting out of this unscathed. The best thing for you to do is cooperate. You’re a minor and we need your name and the names of your parents.”

For once in the 2 years he had been facing him, KID had no witty comeback. Dark blue eyes stared Toichi down as the clock ticked but he did not speak. Finally, Shintaro broke the uncomfortable silence.

“It really doesn’t matter if we get your name immediately or not. We already have your fingerprints running in the system. I should get the results back anytime now. Perhaps you’d be more open to discussing what the h*ll happened last night. I’ve got a BOLO out on a suspect with very little description other than “armed and dangerous in black clothes” and no officer is going to be able to work with that.”

“Left out homicidal maniac.”, he muttered under his breath. The superintendent ignored him.

“I have no idea who that man was. I’ve never seen him before in my life.” KID stated. 

“You called him Snake.” he said dryly. “He answered you.”

“I don’t remember that happening at all.” 

“You’re not helping yourself here KID!”, he shouted. At this same moment Shintaro’s phone went off. He took a quick look at the screen before giving him a sideways glance and going into the hallway to take the call. 

“This is your last chance KID”, he said. He would forever deny sounding like he was pleading. “That is most like the fingerprint results coming back. Now is the time to cooperate with us before it’s too late. Combined with your age it would go a long way with the court system.” 

KID chose to ignore him. Instead he watched the door in stony silence until Shintaro returned. The Superintendent looked baffled and approached the foot of the bed. 

He waited for his superior to say something, but Shintaro could only shake his head. “You knew. It’s why you kept your mouth shut. You knew we had nothing on you.”

His eyes bulged.  _ Nothing. He couldn’t mean… _

Shintaro looked at him and Toichi. “His fingerprints came back not in the system. We ran them through all of our domestic databases and through Interpol. We also tried with our American and French connections just in case. There just isn’t a match. We have nothing.”

“What about the DNA?” He brought up. “Didn’t you report you also sent that in?”

“We did”, Shintaro agreed, “But if fingerprints aren’t in the system it’s not very likely that his DNA would be given his age. And even if he is in the system, the center has been backed up. It’ll take at least 2 weeks before they even get to his case.”

“Perhaps it would be best if we moved this conversation into the hallway.” a cool voice cut into the conversation. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Toichi step over towards them. “It may be wise not to hold discussions like this in front of the problem himself.” 

“Oh don’t mind me.” The problem replied. “By all means continue this discussion. It’s riveting and in any case I have a lack of reading material to keep me busy.”

Superintendent Shintaro huffed out a breath and left the room. He followed with Toichi, giving Yamabuki a firm nod as they passed through the doorway. He could trust that Yamabuki wouldn’t let anyone but recognized nursing staff in and no extra bodies would be let out in their absence. 

They entered a small waiting room at the end of the hallway, which had been cleared for the police’s use earlier that afternoon. “After I got the fingerprint results back I called the PSB and Superintendent General Hakuba.” Shintaro began. “They requested we keep them updated throughout our investigation. However, they had several concerns after I shared the full details of the surgeon’s and staff’s report. At this time, with KID being confirmed as a minor, there is very little chance we would get a conviction in court if we did decide to go forward in pressing charges. Kaitou 1412 has always been well-loved by the public and this current incarnation has only furthered that respect.”

“You’re saying that they don’t want to arrest him.” Toichi stated. 

“I’m saying it’s not possible. We never made this public knowledge, even among the 2nd Division, but very few of the heist victims want to press charges seeing as KID returns everything he steals. Both your victims and his. The few that do were caught participating in criminal activities themselves due to heists, and the conflict of interest would be detrimental to their own trials. It’s one of the main reasons the PSB offered you a deal when you voluntarily turned yourself in Kuroba-san. We would have faced a public outcry if we tried to do anything else. With this KID, all we could charge him with outside of the heists is being a public nuisance and purposely wasting the police’s time. As soon as his age is revealed, he’ll get a slap on the wrist.”

He considered this carefully, unsure if what he was feeling was anger, depression, or… relief. “What other concerns did they have?” he asked. 

“We have a teenager who, for whatever purpose, became a famous thief at the age of 14. A thief skilled and creative enough to fool entire cities and evade the police at every turn for years afterwards. Very few children would willingly make that choice or have the discipline to carry it out. This particular child most likely has a history of torture.”

“You think he was forced.” Toichi said. “That he was trained with severe punishments for failure and then ordered to become the new KID.”

_ He should have never been in this position. There was no reason he had to become KID. And he himself shared some responsibility for that. If he’d realized at the beginning that something didn’t add up he could have gotten KID to talk to them, to come to them. The fact that KID didn’t try to do it himself hurt too. They couldn’t just release him knowing what he’d be returning to and if he stayed under police custody there was a very real possibility they’d throw him into equally dangerous situations. They wouldn’t be able to help themselves from using him. What could he do? He had to do something  _ now _.  _

“Rehabilitation.” He and Toichi spoke at the same time. 

“Excuse me?” Shintaro asked.

“I’ll take him.” He said quickly, his mind racing. He had to make them see it his way now, before someone else could convince them otherwise. “Clearly he was raised in violence. But he never struck out at the general public or citizens. In all my dealings with him he has not once resorted to any type of violent behavior or means to evade me or my men. In fact, there have been occasions where he went out of his way to save my men from injuring themselves. Somehow he’s managed to keep his sanity despite his upbringing, quite possibly developed his moral code because of it. Even in his current condition he’s withheld information to keep us from chasing a man who’s already shot at us once. I don’t believe someone like that would want to go the rest of his life the way he’s been living. If we offer him a chance, I think he’ll take it.”

“What kind of chance are you thinking of Nakamori?” Shintaro asked.That was a good sign. At least he was considering it.

“I’ll take him. He can stay with me. I’ll make sure he stays put and he’ll be able to interact with Aoko, someone his age. Between the two of us we can knock whatever illegal nonsense he’s thinking of out of his head. Maybe once he gets used to us and knows he’s safe he’ll open up with the police. We can get the information from him while slowly reintroducing him to society. Rehabilitation.” He stopped for air. Although not ideal, it was the best plan he could come up with. There would be a lot of details to work through and iron out but at least he had a plan. He could work with that. Now he just needed Superintendent Shintaro to agree.

Shintaro was quiet for a few minutes, seemingly mulling over his proposal. Finally he said, “I see where you’re going with this Nakamori and I understand why. Really I do. But I can’t accept it. He evades you and makes fools of the rest of us on a monthly basis. He’d be gone in a manner of hours once he feels up to it and no one would believe we didn’t see it coming. We might as well let him go free right now and you know we can’t do that.”

He stared at the wall. Of course he knew that, but what alternative was there? 

“I could take him”, Toichi offered quietly. He looked at his long/time friend, trying not to hope too much.

“You’re a civilian. I can’t ask you to do that.” Shintaro responded.

“There isn’t much in the way of their options.” Toichi retorted. “I’ll have to speak to my wife of course but considering the circumstances… the police have to keep him. But the police also can’t keep him. Someone in a position of power will recognize what he’s capable of and demand he work for his freedom. It’ll start small. Helping to catch a robber, finding some intel… until it stops being small. Infiltration, with orders to maim or kill anyone who interferes. He'll either do it, and they’ll have ruined him, or he’ll refuse, and they’ll make sure he never sees the light of day again for doing the right thing. I'm certainly not an average citizen and at this point I’m untouchable. The police and the PSB had their chance and they decided to cut me loose instead. Even if they wanted to, it's too late to charge me with a crime now. If you attach the kid to me it’d be harder for them to try and claim him later. They can’t complain about the placement because I’m the best candidate. I’m the first Kaitou 1412 and still hold titles as a world-class magician. I’m the the best chance you have at keeping him besides walking him into an underground bunker.”

Shintaro was silent for another few minutes before saying, “Talk to your wife. Make sure she’s aware of what’s going to be expected in this. I’ll call the Superintendent General and PSB to announce our decision and iron out the details. I’ll call you and your wife into the police headquarters to go over everything once it’s been confirmed. Nakamori.”

“Yes sir.” He replied. 

“Go home and get some sleep. I’ll have Detective Yamabuki take over for you for the next two days. Take the time to readjust. I’m going to have you run point with the Kuroba's in this matter.”

“Yes sir.” He confirmed. He and Toichi walked out of the hospital together. “Are you sure you’re alright with this? I know you didn’t exactly like him before this.” He asked quietly. 

“Yes.” Toichi conformed. “I was angry with him before. I thought he was an ignorant and self-absorbed man who took someone else’s title for their own gain. Someone who was mocking everything I stood for as KID and everything I had lost because of it. The boy in that hospital bed is a child who has suffered. He’s there because he took a bullet for you. Had no problem trying to save your life if it meant his own. That is something I understand and can agree with. Chikage will too.”

He stopped walking for a moment and looked up at the sky. The overcast weather seemed to fit with the mood of the day. Toichi stopped as well, but went on to say, “I’d be more worried about you than me honestly.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Toichi smiled. “Chikage will be on board as soon as I mention his age. But you my friend. You get to go home and explain to fiery little Aoko that she will soon have both Kaitou KIDs as neighbors. You never told her about my previous night job did you?”

His mouth dropped and he swore violently. Toichi tilted his head to the clouds and laughed.


	5. Naming a Thief

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toichi's POV

He walked through the front door and immediately got an armful of squirming body. He gave his wife a tight hug before tucking her into his side. He looked up towards the kitchen and found Aoko peering around through the entrance. “Your father is home as well.” He told her. “He has some very… big news for you so you better head over now.”

Her eyes got big. “Of course, I should go then. Thank you for having me over Chikage-obasan. Welcome back Toichi-ojisan.” 

He smiled fondly at her and rubbed her head, purposely messing up her hair, as she passed him. She stuck her tongue out at him and vanished out the door. He led Chikage into the kitchen and began to fix them both a strong drink. They were going to need it. His wife wasn’t interested in wasting time though. 

“What happened last night?” Chikage demanded. “You’ve been out with the police all day and neither you nor Ginzo called home.”

He brought the alcohol to the table and sat across from her. “Someone appeared in the middle of the heist last night with a gun. They made death threats against KID and tried to shoot Ginzo when he interfered. KID took the bullet.”

“No” Chikage gasped. “That can’t be… there’s no way that can be right! It was a trick. It has to be!”

“Superintendent Shintaro and Ginzo made the announcement themselves. I’ve been to the hospital and heard the doctors’ reports. The shooting wasn’t faked.”

She put her head in her hands and leaned on the table for support. “That’s it then. They finally caught him and he’s going to die soon anyway.”

“No!” He yelled. Startled she brought her head back up to face him. 

“Through the arm and into the shoulder.” He told her. “It wasn’t a critical hit. A couple weeks recovery but no permanent damage.”

“Oh.” She said, surprised. “Oh. It’s certainly strange to think about. Well I imagine Aoko’s going to have mixed feelings about that one. On one hand KID, her nemesis, has finally been caught but on the other hand he was caught saving her father’s life. Is that the big news he needed to tell her?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that.” He replied. “At the hospital it was found that his age… wasn’t quite what we expected.”

She gave him a long look. “I think you better give me the whole story.  _ Now. _ ” Her tone allowed for absolutely no argument and he winced. That was how she sounded whenever she was thinking about whacking him with something.

He started cautiously, gaining momentum as the facts came out. “Multiple doctors and his surgeon confirmed Kaitou KID to be 16 years old based on his bone growth. It’s non-disputable. X-rays and MRIs show a past history of torture, believed to have occurred over a series of years. He is refusing to talk to us and his fingerprints yielded no identification. It’s unlikely they’ll have any better luck with DNA identification unless they already have an identity to try and match it with. All the facts considered, it’s very improbable that he became Kaitou KID by choice. The police basically have nothing they can charge him with, an arrest would never stick, and they can’t let him return to whatever was going on with him before so… Ginzo and I made a proposal to Superintendent Shintaro. I’ve offered to put KID up in our house with Ginzo’s support until the time comes that he feels safe enough to open up and share his information. The idea being that once he starts cooperating with the police we can attempt to reintroduce him to the world  _ without _ the…  _ nightly _ activities.” The last bit of his rant left him slightly winded and feeling like the world was tipping sideways all over again. He took a long drink to let Chikage process what was happening before continuing.

“I wouldn’t have offered”, he told her. “But Ginzo has taken the brunt of this on himself. You can tell by one look at him that he’s not taking these revelations well at all. He actually tried to get Shintaro to let KID stay with him and Aoko first but the Superintendent shot him down. It’d be too easy for KID to escape. If KID stayed with police and anything happened to him I honestly think Ginzo would start to enter a downward spiral…”

Chikage still hadn’t said anything. He was starting to worry. 

_ Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. _

“The Superintendent said to think it over.” He said quickly. “They can figure something else out…”

He stopped abruptly, startled when she laid a hand over his. “He’s a child, and someone tortured him?” She asked so quietly he almost couldn’t make out her words. There was nothing he could say and so he squeezed her hand instead. She took a deep breath. When she lifted her head to look at him again her eyes were burning.

“The police wouldn’t know the first thing to do with him other than lock him in a cage and I’ll be  _ damned _ if anyone takes him in other than ourselves!” She stated fiercely. 

_ This was definitely a bad idea. The last time he’d seen her this worked up she’d flipped a stalker over her shoulder. Then again, times like that were the reason why he married her. Well, at least she’s alright with it. It’s going to be a lot of work on our part to make this work out.  _

His thoughts were interrupted by the front door slamming as footsteps raced towards the kitchen. Aoko ran right to him as tears flowed down her face. 

_ Ginzo definitely told her everything. _

“Is it true?” The girl choked out. “Is it true that you were Kaitou KID.” 

He’d always known, deep down, that she would learn the truth one day about his past alias. And here it was, the moment he’d been dreading. He’d watched this girl grow up and now she was going to hate him, rightfully so, because of KID. And he had no one to blame but himself. 

He looked her in the eyes and nodded. “Yes. I was Kaitou KID.”

She sniffled once. Then twice. And then started to bawl as she threw her arms around his neck.

_ I’m sorry Aoko. I knew what KID took from you. All the time you lost with your father because of him. That’s something I can never give back to you. _

He held her tightly, gently patting her head until the tears slowed and stopped. “I’m so sorry”, she whispered. 

He drew back just enough to see her face. “Sorry? What could you possibly be apologizing for? I should be the person saying that to you.”

“I complained about Kaitou KID in front of you so many times. I cursed him and everything he stood for and you were just trying to do the right thing.” she told him.

“Aoko, I was a criminal. Even if I wasn’t doing something that was literally  _ illegal _ I effectively kept your father from you. You had every right to be angry and upset and I would never hold that against you. I’m honestly surprised you haven’t started hitting me yet.” he said. 

She gave him a small smile. He felt hope blossom in his chest. Both he and Chikage considered Aoko their daughter in everything but blood. The idea that she may forgive him for who he used to be had never occurred to him but he wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

“I have every intention of hitting you later oji-san.” Aoko told him. “You may have been trying to do the right thing but normal people would never consider doing it the way you did. Honestly, do you even think about your hair-brained plans before you start them or is everything a ‘work-in-progress’?”

“I take offense to that!” he laughed. He laughed even harder when Chikage injected a light, “He really doesn’t think Aoko! I have a list of stories that’s a mile long to share with you.”

Once everyone had calmed down and juice was pulled out for Aoko (and more alcohol for Ginzo), he directed his attention to his wife. “We should probably start planning how we intend to deal with this.” He told Chikage. “Superintendent Shintaro said he would call us after he had a chance to talk with Superintendent General Hakuba and the PSB. They’ll no doubt have some requirements of their own but ultimately this is our house and I have every intention of making sure the situation will work for us as well.” 

“You’re working with the Superintendent and the PSB?” Aoko asked, her eyebrows furrowed. “Why?”

Ginzo choked a bit on his drink. “Ah, I didn’t get to finish explaining everything to you since you ran out of the house Aoko.”

“You told me what you learned about the new KID and that the Kuroba’s are going to help the police with him because of Toichi-ojisan’s experience as KID.” she said.

“Well yes.” Ginzo said. “But the Kuroba’s are going to be more involved than you’re probably thinking. I told you that with the situation the way it is, the police headquarters isn’t the best place to keep KID. We want to try and… rehabilitate him in a way. Help him heal while keeping him from going back to being a criminal. The Kuroba’s offered to take him in.”

Aoko looked at him blankly. “You’re telling me,” she said slowly, “that the previous Kaitou KID was my neighbor and honorary uncle for nearly a decade and  _ now _ the new Kaitou KID is going to be my neighbor too?”

Ginzo gave a  _ very _ unconvincing smile. “If we ever get him to go to school I hope you’ll help out?” he offered weakly. The unimpressed glare Aoko gave got her feelings across quite well.

“Look at it this way Aoko,” Chikage said brightly, “I doubt it’s going to be easy getting KID to rejoin society. You’re going to get to boss around one of the most famous criminals of the era and force him to change his wicked ways. Doesn’t that sound exciting~!”

“Wicked ways?” he asked. He looked over at Ginzo. “Was I ever ‘wicked’?” 

“I’m trying not to think about it because it sounds like something out of a bad romance novel.” Ginzo replied gruffly. In the background, it sounded like Aoko was starting to get on board with the idea as she and Chikage were making plans in rapid, high-pitched speech. 

He thought about joining them but changed his mind after he heard, “and then we can make him hold our bags while we shop~” He suddenly felt really bad for the horrors KID was going to face in this household. Maybe he would have been better off with the Nakamori’s. 

He tapped Ginzo on the shoulder and looked towards the living room. Ginzo nodded and they both got up, leaving the girls to their planning. He led Ginzo through the living room and up the stairs to the 2nd floor bedrooms. He opened a door on their right and turned on the light. 

“This is the guest bedroom.” He told Ginzo. “I was thinking Chikage and I could fix it up for KID. Maybe take Aoko shopping to get her opinion on various things. I figure she would know what teenagers like while I know how to entertain problematic young men. Between the two of us we should be able to put something together for him.”

Ginzo stroked his chin. “Sounds good to me. But will this be a problem for you?” he asked. “I wasn’t really thinking about it before but this is going to take a lot of time and KID won’t be going to school initially. Won’t you have to travel for shows at some point?” 

He shook his head. “I finished my last tour at the beginning of the year. I was planning on taking it easy for a little bit so I didn’t plan on attending any serious events for the next few months. I may host a show or two but nothing too far out of the general area. Who knows, maybe KID will take an interest in one of them.” 

Ginzo laughed. “Don’t ever say that to him. I have the feeling he’d refuse just to be contrary.” 

They spoke about color schemes and Ginzo’s recent purse snatcher case for a bit longer until Chikage called them down for dinner. 

“Aoko made the soup entirely by herself and it’s just wonderful!” Chikage gushed. Aoko blushed bright red. 

“It’s not that great.” She muttered. “It’s only soup.”

“It tastes great to me.” he told her as Ginzo downed half his bowl. “You really do have talent in the kitchen young lady.” 

They finished dinner and he and Ginzo began clearing away the dishes when there was a knock on the door. Chikage looked a bit confused but offered to get it. 

“It’s probably the Yoshimida’s from across the street.” he told Ginzo. Their dog has been getting out lately and he likes to sneak in our backyard and sleep under my rose bushes. 

It wasn’t the Yoshimida’s. 

Chikage called them to the living room and they walked out to find Superintendent Shintaro removing his shoes. 

“I apologize for the intrusion ma’am.” He told Chikage. “But it’s rather urgent that I speak with your husband and Inspector Nakamori.” 

“It’s alright sir.” he told him. “I assume you got an answer from the Superintendent General?”

“Both the PSB and Superintendent General Hakuba were in favor of your proposition. They had a few requirements such as a monitoring anklet and suggestions about schooling but otherwise they were actually a bit relieved you offered. That could have all waited until the morning though. We’ve got another problem.” 

“Don’t tell me something happened at the hospital.” Ginzo bit out.

“Not that either.” Superintendent Shintaro stated. “You’re never going to believe this. Did you know that when facial recognition software searches for a match it goes through the most recently submitted photos first?”

“Makes sense.” Ginzo grumbled. “More likely to find someone who just disappeared than someone who upped and left years ago.” 

Shintaro huffed. “Well, apparently photos that are resubmitted to the system go in as new additions even if it’s not actually a recent case. Some people and agencies put their photos through age-progression software and resubmit them as often as once a year. And that’s exactly what we got a hit on.”

“You have an ID match on Kaitou KID already?” he asked, a little surprised. 

  
“Oh, we got a match all right. Only to one of  _ the _ most famous child kidnapping cases of the decade. When we get to the hospital tomorrow you can say hello to the son of actress Kudo Yukiko and best-selling author and police consultant Kudo Yusaku: Kudo Shinichi, who’s been missing for the last 8 years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When you think the plot is predictable and the author throws a wrench in the works...


	6. To Prank and Panic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chikage's POV

She walked through the halls of Ekoda General with purpose. She was a woman on a mission and she pitied anyone who had the nerve to get in her way at this point (someone had already tried not 2 minutes earlier and paid dearly for it). They had arrived at the hospital as a group originally intending to go up together but forgot that the police had set up a… procedure of sorts with the hospital as far as contact with KID was concerned. She and Aoko still had to be approved as visitors whereas Ginzo and Toichi had already gone through the process the last time they came. Rather than force the two men to wait while they had copies of their ID’s made, she told them to go ahead of them and they would meet them at KID’s room. Toichi looked like he wanted to disagree but between Aoko’s raised eyebrows and Ginzo’s impatience she won the argument. Of course, that was before the hospital staff decided their copier needed immediate maintenance and they had to wait an extra 30 minutes. Her own patience was wearing thin and it didn’t help that everyone they ran into seemed intent on halting their progress. 

As she rounded the corner she realized with a start that Aoko wasn’t beside her anymore. She stopped in her tracks and turned around, walking back a few feet when she saw how far ahead she had gotten. 

“Sorry Aoko, I didn’t realize I was going too fast. You should have told me to slow down.” she said.

“It’s okay Chikage-obasan. I don’t mind.” She paused at Aoko’s answer. It sounded distracted and nervous, not like the normal Aoko at all. 

“Is everything okay dear?” she asked, worried. “I know you’ve never been a big fan of hospitals but time will go by quickly and we can leave if it gets to be too much for you.”

“No!” Aoko shook her head with wide eyes. “It’s nothing like that! I promise I’m okay. It’s just…” She trailed off, lowering her eyes to the floor. 

_ What could Aoko be so worried about? She has avoided hospitals as much as possible since her mother’s death but it sounded like that wasn’t the problem and she was fine when they arrived and were checking in. She’d been with her since then so she knew nothing happened while they were registering. Aoko seemed to be calm through all of it. It wasn’t until they’d actually started walking to KID’s room that she’d gotten quiet… wait. Could she still be… _

She stopped alongside a waiting room and took Aoko’s hand. Aoko looked confused but didn’t say anything, waiting for her to speak first. 

“You know”, she told her quietly, “there’s nothing wrong with not wanting to meet him.” Aoko looked shocked. “We adults decided this on our own without your input and I know what we are asking you to do is difficult. KID stole your father a good portion of the time. Everyone knew you hated him. We never expected you to forgive him and no one would blame you if you feel you can’t. We can leave right now and I’ll take you home instead.”

Aoko looked her in the eye and said, “I did hate him. I hated him and wished he would fail and wished he’d be caught and… I always thought KID was stealing so he could laugh at us. That he wanted to mock the police and make my father seem inept and interrupt everyone’s daily lives for the fun of it. But the first KID was Toichi-ojisan and he was KID to stop actual criminals. There was nothing fun about it. This KID could have died trying to keep my father alive. That’s not something you do for a person that means nothing or is a joke to you. I was so very wrong about both of them. Toichi-ojisan didn’t blame me but I don’t know this KID. And he only knows my father. What if he knows about the things I used to say about him? There’s nothing for me to forgive him for but what if…” She took a deep breath. “What if  _ he _ won’t forgive  _ me _ ?”

_ All this time I thought we’d have to encourage her to accept KID. I never imagined she’d be worried about the opposite taking place. We didn’t think about how much KID knows about Aoko but she’s always been vocal about her feelings towards him and he could have found out from any number of sources.  _

She said aloud, “KID has always been a gentleman, back to when Toichi first started stealing. I believe that anyone who’d succeed Toichi would have to have those same qualities. He’d understand why you felt as you did and I’m sure he won’t hold it against you.”

“You think so?”Aoko asked.

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about.” she replied. Aoko gave her a small smile and they continued to KID’s hospital room. 

The door was open when they arrived, although there were two police officers stationed to the side. Both came to attention as they drew closer but they waved them inside once they saw Aoko. She nodded gratefully and moved past them. She was more than a little surprised by the scene she was greeted with. Toichi was standing against the wall with a hand over his mouth. It didn’t do much to block out his laughter. The KID was sitting up in bed with an innocent smile that screamed he’d done something wrong and Ginzo was… well it looked like Ginzo was trying to pry his feet off the floor. 

_ What had she missed? _

“Darling” Toichi walked over and took her hand. He was still chuckling. “I’m glad you’re here. Keep them company will you? I need to go look for solvent before Ginzo ruins his shoes.” He led her to the opposite side of the bed from Ginzo, kissed her on the cheek and left the room, closing the door behind him. She gave Ginzo a questioning look before directing her attention to KID himself. 

“Hello. My name is Kuroba Chikage. I’m sure you’re still a bit confused about what’s happening. The man who just left is my husband Kuroba Toichi. He’s…”

“Absolutely charmed to meet you madam, but I know who Kuroba Toichi is.” KID’s voice was crisp and clear. If she’d had to judge from the voice alone she would’ve never guessed there was anything physically wrong with him. 

“You know who he is?” she asked.

He smiled. It was carefree and unrepentant. “Every two-bit party illusionist and street magician knows who Kuroba Toichi is. I like to think I’m a bit better than that.” 

She couldn’t help but smile. Bright, confident, and a tad snarky. She could relate to someone like that. She’d married someone like that after all. “Perhaps you’d care to let me in on the joke then. What exactly did you do to poor Ginzo?” She looked over at the man in question. It seemed he’d given up on correcting whatever happened to his shoes and instead sat on the floor to unlace them. He already had one foot free. 

KID looked over as well. “He...requested I share some information with him. I may have induced a tiny amount of rage by informing him I have no intention of making things easy for him and he responded by telling me that I might as well cooperate, I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon and no amount of cheap magic tricks would change that.” He paused and gave a grin of pure amusement. “I figured the least I could do was ensure  _ he _ didn’t go anywhere either.”

“You glued his shoes to the floor?” she asked.

“I glued his shoes to the floor.” He confirmed. “Really, you’d think that he’d know better than to challenge me considering our history together. It was comically easy to pull off.”

“Dad couldn’t fall asleep last night.” Aoko’s soft voice cut through the room even if she was still standing by the door. “It’s impolite to fight with someone who’s not at their best.”

KID looked shocked. Aoko was clearly someone he hadn’t expected to see and she took note of the expression. She suspected it was the most derailed KID had been since arriving at the hospital. He seemed to get over it quickly though, his facial features smoothing out into something calmer. He glanced over at Ginzo for a moment. 

“Some water on the soles and they’ll come right off.” He told the inspector. Ginzo looked a cross between indignant and startled before getting up and leaving the room, presumably to follow KID’s advice. 

“I’m stunned you gave it up so easily.” she commented once he was gone. “I expected him to stay stuck until Toichi figured it out.” 

“I’m not so rude as to intentionally make the inspector look like a fool in front of his only daughter.” KID stated simply. 

As they talked Aoko came closer to the bed, ending up next to her. “How do you feel?” Aoko asked.

“Fit as a fiddle. Can leave at any time.” KID told her. Aoko’s brows furrowed.

“You were shot 2 days ago.” Aoko said. “You can’t just leave the hospital because you feel like it!” 

“I don’t see why I can't,” he told her. “It’s my body. I certainly know whether I feel well or not!”

“Are you always this frustrating? Are you hoping to re-injure yourself?” Aoko asked, voice steadily rising into a shriek. 

She watched, amused, as they began to squabble like an old married couple. 

_ Even Toichi and I aren’t this bad and I’m a self-proclaimed drama queen. _

This was the scene that Toichi and Ginzo came back to 10 minutes later. The kids were still going at it, having gotten oddly close together during the argument, while she lounged in the corner chair filming it all. She gave them a cheerful wave before going back to her recording. Toichi sighed before clearing his throat loudly. He had to do it twice more before either teen heard. Aoko immediately jumped back from the bed. 

“Toichi-ojisan. Dad. I didn’t realize you were back.” Aoko stuttered. 

Ginzo grunted, eyeing both Aoko and KID. Seems she wasn’t the only one who saw how naturally the two seemed to feel comfortable with each other and Ginzo wasn’t as receptive as she was.

_ Better deflect before this gets out of hand. _

“KID wants to be discharged.” she announced cheerfully. Toichi looked thoughtful. 

“Are you sure?” he asked. “The doctors say you’re recovering well but it’s still only been two days.”

KID gave him an unimpressed look. “Two days or twelve, I’ll be going to the same place regardless so I see no point in wasting time. I’m more surprised the police haven’t already escorted me out. I have to commend their patience.” 

She frowned. “Do you think you’re going to be arrested?” She whirled around to glower at her husband and Ginzo. “Why does he think he’s still going to be arrested? Did you tell him that?”

Ginzo put both hands up. “We never exactly got that far into the explanation.”

She huffed, turning back to KID. He didn’t seem to like where this was going. “The police came to an agreement.” she told him. “You can’t be arrested, so you’ll be coming home with me and Toichi instead. We’re going to be your guardians for the foreseeable future.”

KID’s mouth dropped. “You can’t be serious!” he exclaimed. “There’s no way the police would allow that!” 

Ginzo laid a hand on his good shoulder to calm him down. “The Kuroba’s live next door to me. The Superintendents agreed, so long as both Toichi and myself are keeping an eye on you they see no reason to keep you locked up. Also,” he paused for a moment, “We understand that you’ve been through a lot. We’re not trying to trap you. We just want to help.”

“Help? I don’t need help. You clearly don’t know the first thing about me.” KID snapped. 

Toichi frowned. “We may not know exactly what happened to you during these last 8 years, but we’ve got a decent enough idea that it was nothing good.” Toichi told him. “And we  _ do _ know everything about you prior to that time.”

KID grew pale. His eyes grew wide and his pupils shrunk. “What do you mean?” he whispered. 

“It’s okay Shinichi. We know someone’s been hurting you. We really just want to help.” Ginzo told him. 

Shinichi lowered his head, staring at the bed covers. He was quiet for several minutes. Finally he raised his head to look at them and asked, “How did you find out?”

“Facial recognition.” Toichi told him. “We already called the Kudo’s. They were out of the country but they caught a plane back to Japan immediately after receiving the news.” He checked his watch. “They shouldn’t be much longer. The police will want to speak with them I’m sure, but we can try to bring them here afterwards if you think you’ll still be awake.”

“No.” Shinichi said resolutely, his eyes wild. “No. I don’t want to see them.  _ Absolutely _ not. And  _ don’t _ call me Shinichi.”

She exchanged a glance with her husband and Ginzo. This definitely wasn’t how they wanted the conversation to go. 

“I understand it’s been a long time, but your parents never stopped missing or looking for you. We only figured out your name because they continually update your missing person’s information.” Ginzo said. “They just want to see that you’re okay now.” 

That didn’t seem to make Shinichi any happier. His hands clenched in the bed sheets and she saw one of his legs twitch. 

_ Enough is enough _ .  _ At this rate Shinichi would jump out the window before he accepted what they were saying.  _

“Alright.” she stated. “Out!” When her husband and Ginzo looked like they wanted to argue with her she all but pushed them out the door, locking it once they were in the hallway. Aoko said nothing and backed up into the corner to give her and Shin… KID space. 

She sat down on the edge of the hospital bed and took KID’s hands in her own. “We can keep calling you KID if that’s okay.” she told him. “And I’m sure Yusaku and Yukiko don’t want to crowd you while you’re recovering. We can take our time with all of that.” 

KID nodded slowly. “I… I need time.”, he told her. “It’s too much. I just can’t handle all of this right now.” 

She could understand that. A lot had happened very quickly after all. She was sure Yusaku would understand as well and could keep Yukiko restrained until the time was right. “I’ll talk to the Kudo’s. They’re family friends and I know we can work something out. I’m going to have to insist that you let me keep them updated though. Regardless of the circumstances, they just found out their son is alive and to keep them in the dark longer than necessary is cruel.”

KID gave a dark laugh. “I can deal with that.”, he said. 

“Good.”, she told him. She stood up and stretched before turning to Aoko. “I’m going to inform Toichi and your father about our decision. We also still have to speak with Superintendent Shintaro about a few things and that’s going to take some time. Will you be okay keeping KID company while we’re gone? Someone should probably get him up and moving if we’re hoping to have him discharged soon.” 

“Don’t worry. I can handle him.” Aoko said. KID looked slightly put out. She gave them both a pat on the shoulder and left the room. She had no doubt Aoko could take care of KID as needed. Right now, she just had to take care of everything else. She sighed. 

_ Some days it’s not worth getting out of bed.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was mostly filler, but we'll get into the explanation for KID/Shinichi in the next few chapters (there will be plot, I promise!).


	7. A Mother's Heartache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ginzo's POV

He looked at the officers around him. He saw a lot of shoulders and knees locked in place. He sighed. They were currently anxiously awaiting the Kudo’s arrival and the tension was starting to set in. They were happy to have KID’s name and it was wonderful they had closed a near-decade old missing persons case but it left them all in the slightly perilous situation of trying to resolve their issues with KID while navigating worried parents with wealth, power, and connections. Every action they took was undoubtedly going to be questioned and there was the very real possibility that their previous deal for KID would be rescinded in the face of his parents. 

_ For every bit of progress we make we take two steps backwards at the same time. _

Toichi and Chikage were standing along the side of the room. He was glad to have them. He knew next to nothing about the Kudo couple except what he’d read in the papers over the years and heard through work gossip. The Kuroba’s on the other hand were very close to the Kudo’s. The four had bonded years ago over their shared loss of a child and had stayed close in the years following. He considered Toichi and Chikage family in a way, forged through late night heists and early morning grocery shopping. They were the ones who watched Aoko when he was at work and he was the one who watered Toichi’s rose bushes when they were out of town. Still, there were some things a person could only talk about with someone who’d experienced the same. It was the Kudo’s, grieving parents in their own right, who’d helped Toichi and Chikage survive the loss of Kaito-kun and he’d forever be grateful to them for that fact alone. He could only hope that relationship would make this easier on everyone. 

The door opened and Superintendent Shintaro entered the room. He glanced over the line of officers. “Look sharp.”, he commanded. “The Kudo’s are in the lobby and will be up any minute. They will be escorted by select members of Division 1 who will be temporarily working with this task force to locate and apprehend the gunman from the last heist. These officers have already been debriefed on the identity and circumstances of the original Kaitou KID. Kudo Yusaku has aided Division 1 as a consultant in the past and I expect you will all show him due respect as we proceed. He very well may be an indispensable asset in this investigation.”

He nodded. Kudo Yusaku was a best-selling mystery novelist and had helped Division 1 several times in the past. Years earlier some in the police force had even speculated that it was those actions that had led to the kidnapping of his child. Nothing was ever confirmed but it remained the most probable suspected motive.

It was at that time that Division 1 entered the room. Inspector Megure Juzo entered first, followed by Inspector Shiratori Ninzaburo and detectives Satou Miwako and Takagi Wataru. He’d heard quite a bit about Inspector Megure and the detectives and all had a reputation for being dedicated and thorough. He hadn’t heard much about the new Inspector, Shiratori, but he must be an extraordinary officer to make inspector at such a young age. 

The officers of Division 1 were followed into the room by the Kudo’s. Kudo Yusaku at a glance was exactly the type of man he expected, quiet and steadfast. Upon entering Kudo immediately took in the room and officers present, seemingly categorizing whatever information he could gleam from it. It was only noticeable after a closer look that he had bags under his eyes and those eyes were glazed over. In comparison, his wife showed her stress and raw emotion far more openly. She visibly searched the room as if she expected her son to be there and the tear tracks on her cheeks seemed fresh. 

Chikage walked over to Kudo Yukiko and gave her a tight hug, speaking several words too low for him to hear. He debated moving closer to offer his… _support? Condolences?_ _Maybe he was better off staying where he was at_ when Superintendent Shintaro finished welcoming Inspector Megure and the two took their seats at the head of the room. He joined his subordinates in grabbing free chairs, choosing one closer to the front but making sure to leave space for the Kuroba’s and the Kudo’s. Once everyone present was seated Superintendent Shintaro cleared his throat. 

“This meeting regarding the case of Kaitou KID will now be brought to order. Since our last meeting, several new facts have emerged leading to civilians Kudo Yusaku and Kudo Yukiko being cleared for this briefing. Before I get into this, I will introduce Inspectors Megure and Shiratori and Detectives Satou and Takagi from Division 1. With the permission of Superintendent Matsumoto of Division 1, we have entered a joint task force to locate and apprehend criminal file #3921, who attempted to murder an Inspector at the KID heist 2 nights ago. Until the felon is found these officers will represent Division 1 and extend their resources to aid our own as necessary. Look around you. Any officer present in this room is expected to give this case their due diligence and any new information obtained should be shared  _ only _ with those here.”

He glanced around the room, taking time to look over each individual officer. “It is highly probable that our criminal has police informants or connections and it is the utmost importance that we give no allowance for a leak to occur.”

“To update everyone on the current situation, since our last meeting no new information has been obtained regarding the KID heist gunman, hereby known as criminal #3921, and his status remains ‘at large’. However, facial recognition has confirmed the identity of the new criminal #1412, also known as the Kaitou KID, to be Kudo Shinichi.”

Several officers coughed or let out minor exclamations, but quickly quieted down in the face of Superintendent Shintaro’s glare. He continued, “Kudo Shinichi went missing from his family’s home in Beika district 7 years and 8 months ago. His neighbor was watching him while his parents were out of town but the boy had returned to the house to pick up something he’d left behind. After he did not return the neighbor went to search for him and found the house empty and ransacked. It appeared that culprits broke through the back door’s lock and entered the house with the intention of robbery. The safe showed signs of tampering but was unopened. It is assumed that Kudo-kun interrupted the robbery-in-progress and when the assailants were unable to enter the safe they kidnapped Kudo-kun for the ransom money. However, no ransom call was ever made. Very little evidence was found at the scene and there were no leads, making it a cold case. This brings us to the present. 

During Kudo-kun’s treatment for the gun shot wound, hospital staff found evidence of a history of physical abuse spanning the last several years. It is now our belief that after his kidnapping, he eventually ended up in the hands of someone or a group that wanted the return of Kaitou KID and that he was forced to fill the role. Their motive and incentive for doing this is still unknown, as is how criminal #3921 relates to this. We currently have no reason to believe that he is one of the kidnappers but we cannot rule it out. Additionally, Kudo-kun demonstrated during the heist that he does know the gunman’s identity, although he has thus far refused to share any information with police. We hope that he will eventually decide to cooperate with police but until that time occurs we must proceed as if we will get no further aid from him. The first step, and the goal of this meeting is to determine the motive for making Kudo Shinichi become Kaitou KID and what the link between the two individuals was.”

An officer in the back raised a hand. “Were the Kudo’s familiar with the Kuroba’s prior to the kidnapping?”

Yukiko looked shocked but Yusaku spoke up, “My wife trained for some time in the art of disguise under Kuroba Toichi for her for her acting work. The training had ended nearly a year prior to the kidnapping although we were close acquaintances and stayed in contact afterwards. We did not become close friends until after Shinichi disappeared.”

Officer Hamada asked, “Did the evidence support any connection to Kaitou KID at the time of the kidnapping?” 

Shintaro responded, “The only evidence found was a few partial fingerprints too badly smudged to be used for comparison. There was a vase missing from the living room and a table was slightly out of place. Several pieces of the vase were found on the floor next to its stand and the table had multiple new scratches. The police concluded that Kudo-kun struggled with his kidnappers but that the criminals cleaned the scene as they left to remove any evidence that could be traced to them.”

Detective Yamabuki asked, “Were the Kudo’s aware of Kaitou KID’s true identity at the time?” 

Yusaku told him, “I heavily suspected that Kuroba Toichi was KID shortly after meeting him. The intelligence and skill was present in both individuals and he was in the right age range. However, I had absolutely no proof of my suspicions and Toichi had no motive to speak of for becoming a phantom thief as he had significant success as a magician in his everyday life. We traded a few veiled comments in amusement over the situation, implying that we both knew the truth, but nothing was ever confirmed out loud.”

“Did you mention your suspicions to anyone?” Detective Yamabuki persisted. “Someone could have related your suspicions to a disgruntled criminal who then spread the information, bringing your family to the attention of KID’s enemies.”

“Again, I had no proof. To implicate someone is a criminal with no backing to your suspicions other than ‘good timing’ would be a serious violation of my principles as a police consultant. If I was wrong and the police acted on my word alone then I am responsible for the damage and havoc caused to that person’s life. I never, and would not, act against my morals in that way. Besides, Kaitou KID was a harmless thief. He allowed no one to be harmed or hurt through his heists and everything he stole was returned shortly after. As far as I was concerned, revealing his identity was at the bottom of my priority list. I simply didn’t find it prudent to tell anyone who I thought it was.”, Yusaku said.

Several officers began rapidly firing off questions to Yusaku relating to the kidnapping and his involvement with deciphering Kaitou KID’s heist notices. A few detectives began to ask Yukiko about her own knowledge pertaining to the thief and whether she had suspected her disguise mentor at all during her training (she replied she had not). It resulted in a rather random volley of questions and answers. After nearly two hours of the discussions proceeding with little progress, he had a hard time keeping up. It was at that point when the young Division 1 detective sitting next to him quietly said something that made him stop in his tracks.

He stood up violently in his chair, drawing the others’ attention. “What did you say?”, he demanded.

Detective Takagi looked surprised and nervous at his exclamation. “I...I’m sorry?”, he asked meekly.

“No! What did you say? Just now!”, he repeated.

Detective Takagi thought back a moment and said with a slight deprecating laugh, “Oh, I was just wondering how Kudo-kun was able to make such a convincing Kaitou KID in the first place.”

_ Of course! That’s what we missed. We’ve been thinking about this backwards from the very beginning!  _

He nodded. “You’re right. We missed the obvious. His mother knew the original KID but he didn’t. Brief meetings as a child wouldn’t have been enough to learn Kuroba’s traits and Kudo-kun was a near perfect match when acting as KID. Even  _ I _ thought we were dealing with Kuroba-san again the night KID first reappeared. Videos of previous heists and performances would never get across the minor nuances he portrayed. So  _ how _ did he know how to act?”

The silence was deafening. 

“Someone close to me.”, Toichi mused aloud. “It’s the only explanation. Whoever turned Kudo-kun into KID had to have known myself well enough to teach him my character, how to become a showman of my stature. They’d also have to be extremely familiar with the various background knowledge and applications of stage magic. Disguising, small explosives, the finer points of escape. Kudo-kun had a keen mind and a skill for information gathering, but someone had to teach him how to apply it to become KID. That person knew me well enough to pull it off.”

He gave a near feral grin. “We’ve been thinking about this the wrong way. We shouldn’t assume the Kudo’s were the focal point of this. Whoever did this was directly related to you. Kudo-kun was most likely an unfortunate side-job in this case. It’s probable that the one responsible knew the Kudo’s as well, seeing as Kudo-kun was exactly the kind of individual they would have needed, but the Kudo’s weren’t the actual targets.”

“But there were several years in between the kidnapping and KID’s reappearance.”, Officer Monomi noted. “Isn’t it possible that the mastermind behind KID obtained Kudo-kun  _ after _ he was kidnapped? The robbery/kidnapping could be an entirely separate case and the fact that it was Kudo-kun was just a lucky coincidence for the mastermind.”

“No.” Yusaku shook his head slowly. “Shinichi was just over 8 years old when he was taken and he’d already formed strong morals in regards to justice and crime. It would have taken them an extreme amount of time to… get him to the point that he’d go along with the KID scheme. They also needed to get him up to par with breaking and entering and things like sleight-of-hand. You don’t learn those overnight. The timeline also fits. The Kuroba’s themselves were targeted only 3 months before Shinichi was kidnapped. Considering what happened afterwards there’s no way that is a coincidence.”

Inspector Shiratori said, “It was believed that those responsible for the destruction of the Kuroba’s home were members of a criminal organization that Kuroba-san was hunting, which is further implied by the timeline. The odds are very small that you would both know someone related to this organization without knowing or at least suspecting something was wrong.”

“I can’t imagine anyone that we knew would be responsible. I just can’t.”, Chikage said quietly.

He felt for her. The Kuroba’s were friendly and optimistic and a tad over-the-top. When they made a commitment they kept it and their relationships were much the same. A million fans and acquaintances adored them, but they let very few people close enough to truly get to know them both. Anyone that they considered a real friend was treated more like family and the idea that one of these individuals would hurt them as these criminals had was unbelievable to him. 

_ Although, that is probably just my own bias, as one of their friends, speaking. There are people in this world who are just sick in the head or heartless. I have to remember that someone intended for the Kuroba’s to die. That person murdered Kaito-kun and tortured Kudo-kun. I can’t afford to let my personal feelings prevent us from solving this. _

Out loud he asked Toichi, “We will need a list of everyone who was involved long-term with your magic shows or knew your family extensively in the time period before the house explosion. We will also need the names of anyone that you so much as  _ suspected _ of believing you had any kind of tie to Kaitou KID. The Kudo’s can go through the names afterwards to pick out anyone they knew personally and we’ll start with those individuals.”

Toichi shook his head. “Very few people actually saw any form of my technique behind the scenes. I only have one assistant, Jii Konosuke, but I’m telling you he’s not involved. He has no family and considered Kaito his grandson. He never would have hurt him and absolutely could not have kept Kudo-kun because he always either travels with us for shows or is helping me prepare for a show. He simply didn’t have the time to keep Kudo-kun. We’re friendly with our show crews but they were venue-specific and Jii-san and myself handled the particulars of each show. I honestly don’t know anyone who’d have the ability to create another KID.”

He ruffled his hair with one hand, sighing. There had to be  _ someone _ involved here that fit their profile. His gut was screaming that they were on the right track. 

“There is someone. But she couldn’t… she couldn’t be related to this.”, Kudo Yukiko whispered. Her husband whipped his head in her direction. It seemed he had no knowledge of who she was thinking of. Kudo Yukiko continued, “I first approached Toichi on a whim. I had the opportunity to apply for a film role as a spy that was originally written for a man and the director didn’t think a woman could understand or pull off the various efforts taken in the plot for the character to hide in plain sight. I took offense to his disregard of me and decided to go to someone renowned for tricking others to get some pointers. Toichi was the most infamous in the business and I thought no one could beat his knowledge for applying disguise. I wasn’t the only one. Another woman, a Broadway actress from abroad approached Toichi shortly after myself requesting the same thing.” 

Toichi looked like he would be physically ill. 

Kudo Yukiko breathed deep. “She trained under Toichi in disguise with me and knew both our personalities and families well, although she never mentioned her own private life. When I asked her about it once she implied that she had been through several tragedies throughout her life. She told me once that ‘No angel has ever smiled upon me. Not even once.’ I didn’t want to bring up bad memories so I didn’t mention it again. She only ever talked about the acting jobs she was working on.”

He held his breath. This could be the break they were waiting for. It was Inspector Megure who asked the key question, “What was the woman’s name?”

Kudo Yukiko raised her head and looked him in the eye as she said, “Sharon Vineyard”. 


	8. An Unconventional Hospital Visit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takagi's POV

He stood up and stretched his arms. The crack and pop of his shoulder settling was a sore reminder of how long they’d been stuck in the conference room deliberating. He looked over at Inspector Megure and Inspector Shiratori. They were still in deep conversation with Superintendent Shintaro about gathering information on ‘Sharon Vineyard’ and they weren’t likely to finish anytime soon.

_ Maybe I should go with the KID Task Force officers to grab some lunch for them while we’re on break. We’re probably going to be stuck in this room all day and it’ll be hard to think straight if we’re all starving.  _

He began to mentally debate whether Shiratori-san would prefer miso soup or sushi when a hard slap to his back nearly sent him crashing to the floor. 

“Good thinking earlier!”, Satou-san cheered. “If you hadn’t thought of that we’d be knee-deep in a list of everyone the Kudo’s ever upset right about now. Keep up the good work and you’ll be made an inspector before me!”

_ Satou-san is complimenting me! She thinks I do good work. She thinks I work as well as  _ she _ does.  _ He kept his face angled to the floor to keep her from seeing him blush. It didn’t work.

“Are you feeling okay?”, Satou-san asked, concerned. “You look overheated.”

He jumped back and raised his hands in front of him. “I… I’m fine!”, he insisted. “It’s just a little warm in here!” 

She cocked her head to the side, confused. “But they have the AC running?”

“Takagi-san!”, Inspector Megure barked. He tried to not look like he was fleeing as he made his way across the room to join the inspectors. 

“Yes sir!”, he said.

“We’re going to stay at headquarters this afternoon and research Vineyard’s activities and whereabouts during the time Kudo-kun went missing.”, Inspector Megure told him. Yusaku-san and Kuroba Toichi are going to remain as well to provide insight where they can. Kuroba Chikage is going to return to the hospital to take care of Kaitou KID and his possible discharge. I’d like you to accompany her to the hospital as an officer assigned to KID’s personal detail. Nakamori-keibu is staying here for a bit longer as well, so you’ll be acting as the primary officer assigned to KID until he joins you. Am I understood?”

“Yes sir!”, he replied. 

Inspector Megure nodded. “Good. I saw Kuroba Chikage head into the hallway already. She should be waiting for you.”

He nodded again, thanking Megure-san again and moving out the door to catch Kuroba-san before she left. His hurry had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Satou-san was still looking at him in concern and his heart was fluttering and he could see Shiratori-san sending a death glare in his direction…  _ nope. Not at all! _ He didn’t have to go very far and skidded to a halt when he saw her just ahead of him in the midst of a serious discussion with Kudo Yukiko. 

“I don’t care what they say, I  _ need _ to go to the hospital with you. I need to see my baby!”, Kudo-san wailed. 

Kuroba-san put her hands on Kudo-san’s shoulders. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she appeared just as upset as Kudo-san was. “I know Yukiko. I know. He’s your son, of course you want to see him, but it may not be the best time.”

“The best time was the moment we landed in Japan!”, Kudo-san said passionately. “We came to the police headquarters first because the police insisted but there’s no reason not to see our son now! We’re his  _ parents _ !”

Kuroba-san bit her lip. “Yukiko, when we were at the hospital Toichi and Ginzo talked about bringing you and Yusaku to visit.”

Kudo-san immediately looked hopeful. “You did?”, she asked.

“They did.”, Kuroba-san confirmed. “It… it didn’t go well. Shinichi reacted near violently when you were brought up. He...he… I’m  _ so _ sorry Yukiko. He told me he doesn’t want to be called Shinichi. He said, outright, that he wants us to keep calling him KID.”

He felt nothing but pity at that moment, as Kudo-san’s face just collapsed, and wondered if she would ever recover. She began to cry softly and it broke part of his heart.

Kuroba-san seemed just as broken and tried to keep her friend hopeful. “It’s been a long time, Yukiko. He’s just not used to the idea yet. And he seemed almost…  _ ashamed _ when you were brought up. Like he felt it was his fault. I think he just doesn’t know how to explain what happened to you and Yusaku and he doesn’t want to hurt you anymore. Give him time and he’ll come around.”

“You think so Chikage?”, Kudo-san asked quietly. Fresh tears stained her cheeks. 

“I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but it might be for the best.” Kuroba-san told her. “The Superintendent General only approved KID’s deal because of the circumstances and the fact that he’d be personally supervised by Toichi and Ginzo. I know the police don’t blame Shinichi for what happened to himself, but I don’t think they’d be very happy to have their only informant about these criminal masterminds go country-hopping with you and Yusaku.” 

Kudo-san gave a watery smile and chuckled. “You’re probably right, especially considering we don’t have an established house in Japan at the moment. I hadn’t planned on saying anything until I saw you in person but we found a buyer for the mansion. The paperwork was already started and we’re just waiting on the buyer’s signature.”

Kuroba-san looked surprised. “I didn’t know you were serious about selling it.”

Kudo-san looked a bit ashamed. “We couldn’t bear to step foot in it. I started to cry whenever I looked at Shinichi’s bedroom door and Yusaku would sit in the living room and stare at nothing. It isn’t a good place for us anymore. Not without Shinichi. There were too many memories for us to deal with whenever we were there. Of course, I feel terrible about it now that Shinichi is back. Maybe he would prefer it if he could go back to the mansion. It was where he grew up after all. He could resent us for giving it up.”

“And maybe he would prefer it if he didn’t have to see the mansion again, seeing as he was taken there.”, Kuroba-san said. “You can’t live the rest of your life in doubt Yukiko.”

Kudo-san sighed. “I can still visit him though, right? While he’s staying with you and Toichi?”, she asked in a quiet voice.

Kuroba-San gave a sad smile. “Of course Yukiko. We’d never keep you away.”

At that moment Kudo Yusaku poked his head through the door and called to his wife, “Yukiko, Inspector Megure would like to ask you a few things. Also, I believe Detective Takagi is supposed to be taking Chikage to the hospital to check on Shinichi.”

Both women turned around, seeing him for the first time. He lowered his head to stare at the floor and ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed to be caught listening in on such a private conversation. Kudo-san walked over to join her husband and clapped him on the shoulder as she passed.

“Thank you for not interrupting us while we talked.”, she said. “I needed that.”

He nodded frantically and she entered the conference room with her husband, closing the door behind them.

“Well then. I guess we should be going!”, Kuroba-san said cheerfully.

He looked at her with wide eyes. “To see KID?”, he asked.

“Of course. Where else would we be going?”

He gulped. “Is it true what they’ve been saying? About him I mean. That even while injured and stuck to a bed he’s managed to torment the officers in charge of him? That he is incapacitating them and sends them fleeing from his room?”

She stared at him, surprised. “That stormy got out already?”

He groaned.  _ Why couldn’t they pick another officer. Why did it have to be him? Was this Shiratori-san’s revenge for Satou-san grabbing him coffee last week? I should have just told her to drink it! _

He was still regretting his life choices as they pulled into the hospital parking lot 30 minutes later. He continued to regret them as she led him through the building and they arrived at KID’s room and he  _ definitely _ regretted them when they entered said room and found a dead body laying half-way on KID’s bed, face down.

_ Why me?! _

His momentary panic subsided when he say the body’s back move. They were still breathing then. Kuroba-san moved to the bed, laughing quietly.

“Did Aoko fall asleep on you?” She gently adjusted the body and turned their head to the side so they were laying in a more comfortable sleeping position. He could now see that it was Inspector Nakamori’s daughter. 

KID apparently found the wall on the opposite side of his bed utterly fascinating. At the very least, he was staring at it. “She passed out almost an hour ago.”, KID said finally. 

He opened a new bottle of water from the table along the wall and took a drink. KID didn’t seem that bad of a kid after all. He actually seemed the gentleman the public claimed he was, letting Nakamori-chan sleep on him undisturbed. 

Kuroba-san hummed, making herself comfortable in one of the chairs. “I know she was up late last night but I didn’t expect her to fall asleep in the middle of the afternoon.”, she said thoughtfully. “In fact, Aoko’s never been one for napping. Once she’s up she’s awake all day.”

She gave a KID a sharp glance but he didn’t look the least bit ashamed.

“I may have helped it along by adding an aspirin to her water.”, KID admitted finally.

He spat out the mouthful of water he’d just taken and looked at the bottle with alarm. 

Kuroba-san sighed deeply and leaned back in her chair. She put a hand on her face. “How did you even get the aspirin?”, she asked. “You’re still on narcotics for the hole in your arm and shoulder.”

KID huffed. “I don’t like heavier pain medication. It’s unnecessary and clouds my thinking. The doctors took me off of it this morning but left the aspirin in case I needed it.”

Kuroba-san looked incredulous. “Who gave them permission to take you off your pain medication? There was no one here!”

KID looked at her from the corner of his eye with a smirk. “Why you did of course!”

Kuroba-san laughed. “Nice try but I know for a fact that I’m not authorized to have your health care altered.” 

KID’s smirk didn’t falter. “Perhaps. But when you were very understanding when they told you that and ‘gave’ the phone to Nakamori-Kirby instead. Then  _ he _ told them to ax the narcotics.”

Kuroba-San blinked. “Yes. That would work.”, she admitted. 

KID hummed and stretched his shoulders. “So, who’s the suit? He wasn’t with the initial round of officers.”, KID said, eyeing him thoughtfully.

He stepped forward, straightened his back and cleared his throat. “It’s nice to meet you. I am Detective Takagi Wataru of Division 1. I’ll be one of the officers assigned to you.”

KID took a moment to evaluate him. He struggled not to twitch. He could understand how KID was such a successful phantom thief at his young age regardless of the circumstances of his childhood. For a second, it was almost as if he was looking not  _ at _ him, but  _ through _ him. Determining what made him tick and setting it aside for later use. 

_ He’d make a fantastic profiler. Maybe he should bring that up with Inspector Nakamori later? It could keep KID out of trouble. _

His eyes fell on Nakamori-chan, who was still sleeping.  _ On second thought, maybe he’d just get into more trouble. _

Finally KID seemed content with…  _ whatever _ he was seeing, smiling and holding out a hand. He stepped up to the side of the bed and took it, believing it was in greeting, when KID used him as leverage to pull himself out of bed without disturbing Nakamori-chan. 

_ What?!? _

KID bent backwards and cracked his back. He hummed in pleasure. “Thanks for the assist. You seem like a decent enough fellow so I’ll let you accompany me on a stroll around the floor. I really need to stretch my legs.”

“I don’t think you’re cleared to be moving around the hospital yet…  _ wait a minute _ ! I thought you were cuffed to the bed!”, he gasped. 

KID looked down and to the left where a pair of cuffs were still locked around the bed frame. The other end was hanging towards the floor, open and empty. “You’re still underestimating me if you honestly thought that would hold me for long even  _ with _ one arm out of commission. Besides, how did you think I got a hold of the phone to resolve the painkiller situation? Teleportation?” KID laughed. “And it’s only one of my arms that’s messed up not my legs. Some would say that it would be beneficial for my health to get some exercise rather than wasting away in a bed, don’t you agree?”

He looked mournfully at the handcuffs. This was  _ definitely _ Shiratori-san’s revenge.

“Alright.”, he reluctantly agreed. “But we’re  _ only _ lapping around this floor and not any other area of the hospital.”

“I’ve got no problem with that. I’ll even stay within 1 foot of you at all times. Be on my best behavior.”, KID told him. 

_ That doesn’t reassure me at all! _

He was debating if he should say ‘no’ to the walk after all when Kuroba-san decided to give her input on the idea.

“That’s a great idea!”, she said. He looked at her and assumed by the way she raised one eyebrow that his face showed the betrayal he felt. “It’ll be good for him. There are still officers posted at all entrances and exits to the floor and despite what he may claim he’s not capable of climbing out any windows right now. He really can’t get away from you.”, she told him. “Besides, I can wake Aoko and speak with the doctors while the two of you are out so that everything is sorted by the time you get back.” 

He felt like crying but decided there was no sense trying to delay the inevitable. He held the door open for KID and they entered the hallway together. The first few minutes of their walk was oddly quiet. KID seemed to be thinking hard about something and barely paid attention to their surroundings while he spent most of the time watching KID. They were just passing a room near one of the ends of the floor when the door opened and a teenager stepped out. He took 3 steps, tripped seemingly over nothing, and fell on his face.

Both he and KID stared in silence for several long seconds. The boy lifted himself off the floor, rubbing his bruised nose. He reached out and tapped him on the arm as he was standing up.

“Are you okay?”, he asked. The boy startled, clearly not having noticed them when he fell. 

“Yes! I’m so sorry. I’m pretty clumsy.”, the boy said. “I hope I didn’t get in your way.”

He shook his head. “We’re fine. No harm done.” 

The boy smiled thankfully, bowed his head again in apology and left. He and KID turned around to walk through another section of the floor, although KID appeared to be in a much better mood now. 

_ That was a rather funny incident. Even if I feel bad for the boy. He’s probably going to be feeling that nose tomorrow. _

He turned his head to look at KID. “So”, he said. “I heard you feel ready to be discharged.”

KID huffed. “Everyone is acting like I should be stuck in a hospital bed on oxygen or something. I was shot through the arm. Yeah, I’m not going to be using that arm anytime soon and breathing deeply still stings my chest every once in a while, but as far as gunshot wounds go I got lucky. It was a clean shot and didn’t sever or seriously damage anything. It’ll be completely healed in a few weeks and it’s not like I’ll need doctor supervision so why bother staying?”

“I hadn’t thought of it like that but it makes sense.”, he said thoughtfully. “Well, the police already have your detail arranged and the Kuroba’s are prepared for you so I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

KID stopped in his tracks. “My detail? I’m really getting my own police detail? That’s… kind of incredible actually. You guys really think highly of me don’t you?”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “More like we know what we’re dealing with when it comes to you. It’s going to take an entire police detail to keep track of you. Plus, if it turns out that we’re right about your kidnapper and their background the detail will be there to protect you too. Better safe than sorry right?”

KID wasn’t laughing anymore. “And just who do you think kidnapped me?” His eyes grew cold. It was like staring into a glacier and feeling yourself start to sink as you were too frozen to escape. He took a step back to try and get enough space to re-orient himself but KID followed him. “The name”, KID demanded. “ _ Now _ .”

He looked around to make sure they were completely alone and pulled KID into a waiting room a few rooms away. Then he looked at KID and said, “We think that your kidnapper didn’t have intimate knowledge of how the first Kaitou KID operated. Beyond what the general public and police know from his heists. We believe that you were taken because she knew your family well and we  _ highly suspect _ that she’s involved with the individuals that the original KID was fighting against.” He swallowed and continued, “We believe, and are investigating, that you were forcibly taken by Sharon Vineyard.”

KID said nothing for a long moment. His eyes had grown empty and there was no trace of emotion on his face. It was as if he was a blank slate and he doubted that anyone could have said how the boy was feeling in that instance. “They don’t really have a group name. At least, not an official one used by the members.”, KID said. He grabbed his recorder from his pocket and began recording. He would transcribe it later as well but the inspectors would want to hear this for themselves. 

KID continued, “Those who are aware of their existence have a few names for them. The most common that I’ve heard are ‘The Crows’ and ‘The Black Organization’. Once an individual has been fully vetted and inducted into the organization, which usually involved committing some type of major crime, they are given a code name related to the primary division they work with and are referred to by that name only in all following organization correspondence. Sharon Vineyard has the code name ‘Vermouth’. However, she is a master of disguise and has multiple aliases which she can and will adopt on a whim if it suits her needs. This includes the identity ‘Chris Vineyard’.”

“Wait”, he interrupted. “I don’t know much but isn’t Chris Vineyard Sharon’s daughter? It came up during this morning’s briefing. Did Sharon kill her own child to steal her identity?” 

“There never was a daughter. Sharon and Chris have been one-and-the-same from the beginning. It’s why they were never seen together and why Sharon never mentioned Chris until she was supposedly in her twenties. What you have to remember is that none of these people are actually ‘real’, even Sharon and Chris. She uses them when appropriate and discards them as needed, but no matter what name she is going by she will always be ‘Vermouth’. Methodical, calculating, and exceedingly dangerous.”

He frowned. “So she is in fact a member of this organization and has multiple identities she can turn to if we attempt to arrest her. What about the gunman who shot you in the first place. How is he involved in this?”

“Snake is another member of the organization. He basically does no independent work outside of his crime jobs and as far as I know he no longer uses his birth name regardless of what it was. He’s part of a different section of the organization than Vermouth that focuses on locating a specific gem, which is what put him at odds with the Kaitou KID in the beginning. The best thing for you to remember right now is that anyone with an animal code name would  _ really _ like to see Kaitou KID dead.”

“What about Vermouth?”, he persisted. “Her code name is a type of alcohol.” 

KID nodded. “Anyone with an alcoholic code name typically makes up the upper echelon of the organization’s main body. By that, I mean they handle the big and important things. But anyone with an alcohol code name has been proven to meet the organization boss’s standards. Most are mass murders that get away with homicide on a regular basis.”

He felt the blood drain from his face. What have they gotten into? How have these people operated without being caught? But more importantly…

“What about you?”, he asked. “Why tell me everything now when you refused to say a word not 10 minutes ago?”

“I didn’t expect the police to actually come up with someone who’s involved with the organization.” KID said. “If you try to go after Vermouth without the full picture of what you’re dealing with you’ll all end up dead. I can’t knowingly let that happen.”

He looked at KID,  _ really _ looked at KID. 

_ What has he seen? What have they put him through while they had him? What did they do to him that has left him assured that everyone who interferes with them will be killed? And how has he managed to keep his morals in spite of it all?  _

The door opened and he instinctively whirled in place with one hand on the butt of his service weapon, mind still considering the information KID just gave him. Kuroba Chikage walked in with her hands on her hips. “There you are!”, she huffed. “What are you two doing in here? When you said ‘walk’ I assumed you’d be back in 15 minutes, not 45! Come on, the doctor is going to look over KID again if everything looks good they’ll start the discharge papers.”

They followed her back to KID’s room and allowed the doctor to begin the exam but he wasn’t paying any attention as the others discussed the results. He fingered the recorder in his pocket and decided he’d ask Shiratori-san to make a duplicate with his own once he reported in. The situation was much worse than they anticipated and he had a feeling it was only going to grow more complex as time went on. 


	9. An Unexpected Excursion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aoko's POV

She tapped her fingers slowly on the car windowsill, keeping time to the beat of blaring car horns as they crawled through traffic. She had tried to amuse herself by watching the shifting cloud cover and trying to decipher the life stories of nearby drivers based on their cars but steadily grew tired of the game. Caught right in the midst of the dinner hour, it had taken them  _ forever _ to get out of the city and although they were now only a few streets from home she was growing increasingly impatient. They had stayed behind at the hospital later than the others, as her dad had a few things to settle with the doctors, so the Kuroba’s actually left first, taking a few police officers with them to serve as “insurance” as they left with KID. She would have requested to leave with them but between KID and the officers there were no extra seats, so she had to ride with her father. 

One of the officers, a detective she didn’t recognize ( _ maybe they were new? _ ), stopped to speak with her father as he left the building. She had previously found a semi-comfortable chair near the opposite wall of the entrance area and couldn’t hear what they discussed from her seat, but based on her father’s face afterwards it was both good news and incredibly frustrating at the same time. She was dying to ask him about it, and had in fact tried while they waited together for the surgical staff’s paperwork, but he’d only grunted and replied, “later” before stepping away to harass another nurse. Really, she didn’t know what people were thinking when they said she took after that man. She was nowhere  _ near _ that level of stubbornness. To make things worse “later” apparently didn’t qualify as ‘in the near future’ either because almost 1 ½ hours after the statement he still hadn’t answered her question. Or said anything of importance for that matter. They’d spent the entire drive in complete silence, him seemingly lost in thought and herself waiting in hope that he’d feel the desire to explain and satisfy her raging curiosity. By the time they arrived her interest, although not erased by any means, had cooled enough for her to recognize that she wouldn’t hear what, if any, new information her father had been given and that she’d be better off looking for Chikage-obasan if she wanted talkative company.

When her father finally pulled into their driveway she all but jumped out of the car, desperately needing to stretch her legs, and headed next door to the Kuroba’s house. Their car wasn’t in the driveway but she could see one of the KID task force’s unmarked cars, the ones used for surveillance, parked across the street. She took this to be a sign that they were home already. She walked across the front lawn, calling to her father that she would be with the Kuroba’s, and knocked on the front door. Toichi-ojisan opened it. 

“Aoko”, he said with a smile. “Finally back are you? We were just wondering what was taking so long.” He looked tired. Now that everyone was starting to settle into their normal routines, or rather the routines that would be normal for the duration of this rehabilitation period, the stress and weight of the situation was starting to settle in. It showed in the light bags under his eyes and the decreased angle of his smile. She couldn’t help but worry. 

“Dad had to get an extra copy of the discharge papers to file at headquarters.”, she told him. “It took a few minutes longer than expected and then we got stuck in rush hour traffic. What about you guys? Where is everyone?” She looked around but the hallway and living room expecting to see Chikage-obasan or the officers but both areas were empty. 

Toichi-ojisan’s tired smile relaxed slightly. “Chikage is upstairs getting KID settled in and I was making coffee for the officers that are staying in the kitchen. They want to go over the house blueprints and the layout of the neighborhood but we all agreed it would be best to wait for your father before starting that.” 

She nodded. That made sense. “Should I head into the kitchen then or would I be in the way?” she asked. 

He shook his head. “You probably want to head upstairs instead. When I told her that we were likely to be busy for the near future downstairs Chikage decided it would be a good idea to sneak KID out of the house while I have them distracted. I don’t think it was a prank.”

Her mouth dropped open and she looked at him with eyes the size of baseballs. “You’re joking right? Please tell me you’re teasing me. Chikage-obasan wants to take the guy everyone’s trying to keep from disappearing and just take-off?”

“She said something about the mall. I honestly think she only plans to have him pick out a few things for the room while there are no officers around to intimidate or influence him. His choices should be a little more honest that way. There’s also the matter of clothing… which we didn’t exactly consider before bringing him home. We don’t have anything prepared in that area and that has to be remedied very quickly. It’s best to have him try on a few things now to get the sizing right and then we can pick up additional items in the future without him if necessary.”

That… did make sense now that she thought about it. Clothing was an issue that hadn’t been mentioned by any of the officers and was kind of important. As for the sneaking out alone bit… well she supposed she should’ve been shocked but that was  _ exactly _ the kind of thing Chikage-obasan would do. She was still in the midst of these thoughts when she asked, “Would she mind if I go with?” The words were out almost before she registered she had said them. She immediately winced, as much as she told everyone she was fine with KID it was just… still unnerving to go  _ shopping _ with him. Despite her conversation with Chikage-obasan at the hospital she just didn’t know how to interact with KID. She couldn’t help but feel that he somehow knew her prior feelings (i.e. utter hatred) towards him. It could just be paranoia talking but she couldn’t shake the feeling. It had already led to an awkward scene when Chikage-obasan left them alone in KID’s hospital room. He’d stared her down as if he was facing a firing squad while she stood by his bedside completely tongue-tied and unable to utter a word. In the end, he’d chosen to fall asleep rather than say anything to her and she’d remained silent. She’d been nothing but relieved when the adults finally returned and that only resulted in another hot flash of guilt. What kind of person was she that when she was in a position to try and help another human being, one who was suffering, she chose to do nothing instead? There was no justifying it. These were dark emotions she didn’t appreciate having and wanted nothing more than to get rid of them. 

_ No matter how I feel about him now there’s no way I’ll be able to avoid him for the foreseeable future. This isn’t like me and I’ll  _ make _ myself get used to him if I have to.  _

She absolutely refused to “run away” because she was afraid of spending time with a boy. 

She had no idea what emotions were showing on her face but it made Toichi-ojisan smile. “I do believe she was hoping you would ask. I’ll handle your father and the other officers but I honestly don’t think they’ll be  _ too _ upset with us. After all, the goal is to make KID feel more comfortable and no one’s going to accomplish that by keeping him trapped in a house surrounded by police 24/7”, he told her. 

She hated to admit it but she had to agree with him on that point. Then she remembered what happened when the Kuroba’s were leaving the hospital earlier. “When you guys were leaving one of the detectives stopped to talk to my dad. Dad wouldn’t say anything about it on the way home but it seemed serious.”

Toichi-ojisan’s face lost the smile and grew serious so fast it gave her whiplash. “No one mentioned receiving other information to us. Which officer was it?”

She frowned. “I didn’t recognize him. Unless he’s new he isn’t a member of the KID task force.”

His eyebrows furrowed deeper. “A few detectives from Division 1 are working with the task force on this case. It was probably Takagi-keiji, he’s the only one with us currently and I know he drove Chikage back to the hospital this afternoon. I hope he’s just waiting for Ginzo to get here before he discusses it with the rest of us.”

His face stayed drawn for another few seconds before he finally relaxed. He slid behind her, resting a hand on both of her shoulders and gently nudging her to the base of the stairs. “Either way, it doesn’t matter much at the moment, we’ll take care of it. You on the other hand should head upstairs if you’re serious about joining the shopping. Chikage will probably slip out the back entrance and I’m not sure when she plans to leave.”

She imagined Chikage-obasan sliding down the stairs with her back to the wall, eyes locked on the sliver of the kitchen doorway that could be seen from the base of the stairs. Then she pictured her doing it while pulling KID behind her. It was too much. “Chikage-obasan doesn’t hold back does she?” she laughed. 

He gave a wry smile. “If you think that’s bad, I have a million stories to share. Trust me, she’s done worse. Remind me to tell you the story of how Chikage and I met sometime. You’ll love it.”

She cocked her head to the side and looked at him in confusion. She’d heard the story of how they met numerous times. Chikage-obasan liked to tell it to anyone who would listen. She said as much out loud.

Toichi-ojisan managed to look both sheepish and unrepentant at the same time.  _ Really, for someone who was normally so hard to read he could be incredibly expressive at times. _ “We May have left a few details out. And been a bit misleading about the time and scenery. In any case it’s more romantic in its entirety and I’d love to tell you and Ginzo sometime. Chikage would get a kick out of it.”

She doubted there was anything involving misdirection that Chikage-obasan  _ didn’t  _ get a thrill out of except permanent injuries and murder. “Maybe when we get back from shopping tonight”, she thought aloud. “If it’s a story you couldn’t tell me and dad until now KID would probably enjoy hearing it too.”

With that she headed up the stairs so Toichi-ojisan could return to the kitchen and the officers. She could hear chatter in the kitchen, but as she climbed the stairs the noise slowly receded until it was non-existence. She walked down the hallway, bypassing both the master bedroom and the bathroom, stopping at the guest rooms. Jii-san usually took the farthest room on the rare occasions when he stayed overnight with the Kuroba’s, so she knocked on the first of the two rooms. After receiving a muffled “door’s unlocked” she took a deep breath and turned the door knob. 

The room was different than she remembered. She’d stayed in this same guest room several times in the past and it had always looked the same: plain white walls adorned by a few scattered framed photos and a single empty shelf, a complete matching set of bedroom furniture, and a large table lamp. The furniture was all sturdy oak, handmade by a carpenter the Kuroba’s had met overseas according to Chikage-obasan, and consisted of a tall bookshelf, a medium-sized chest, a wardrobe, and a twin bed. The single large defining characteristic of the room was a life size portrait of Kuroba Toichi midst performance that sat dead center of one of the walls.

They’d left the walls white and the furniture was the same but that was where the similarities ended. The framed photos of the Kuroba’s and their close friends were noticeably absent, replaced by shots of scenery and famous landmarks from the Kuroba’s travels. The shelf contained several knick knacks that she vaguely recognized as props from some of Toichi-ojisan’s past shows including several card deck, scarves, and various sizes of metallic spheres (she didn’t want to guess what was in them). A new desk and rolling chair had been added to the far wall next to the bookshelf and one of the drawers was opened to show several pieces of scrap material. The table lamp had also been replaced with two modest yet modern standing lamps. The room still had a slight ‘unlived in’ air but it already felt more like a space that was in the process of “moving in” rather than a random guest bedroom. Chikage was sorting a few shirts in the wardrobe while KID lurked in the far corner, seemingly cautious about what was to come. 

“I was hoping you’d get here soon Aoko!” Chikage-obasan chirped. “You’re just in time. If it had gone much longer we would have had to leave without you!”

“I think the officers downstairs would prefer we didn’t leave at all”, KID interjected. He was eyeing Chikage-obasan like you would a hyperactive animal. Waiting to see what she did next. Combined with his previous statement it gave the overall impression of…  _ wow _ . Was KID actually  _ against _ this little ‘escape’ trick they had planned? She stared at him, completely mind boggled. This was honestly the last thing she expected. She would have thought that KID would be frantic to get outside of the house without the police accompanying. It made sense that this would be a much easier scenario to use for an actual escape if he was trying to leave. 

Chikage-obasan hummed cheerfully. “What they don’t know can’t hurt them. Or get us in trouble”, she told him with finality. “Besides, I  _ told _ you already. You need clothing and shoes and supplies for school should we figure out how we can send you and  _ oh _ ! You need your own bowl and cup set, can’t have you using the guest set that’s  _ much _ too impersonal…” 

By this point she was looking at Chikage-obasan with the same exasperated look as KID. “Has she been going on like this for long?” she asked him quietly.

“The entire time we’ve been up here”, he replied solemnly. His voice was smooth and rolling, somehow making the words themselves expressive as if he wasn’t even trying. She hadn’t noticed at the hospital. “Normally I’d let her do what she wants but I believe your father may actually have a heart attack should he find me suddenly missing”, he continued. 

She grimaced, imagining her father’s reaction if that did happen. “Yeah. He would not be a fan of this idea”, she agreed distractedly. She felt KID’s gaze but didn’t question it as Chikage-obasan finished her work in the wardrobe and turned to face them victoriously.

“Great!” she crowed. “Well, it doesn’t matter if you agree or not because it has to happen anyway”, she informed KID. “You might as well go with it. Now hurry up. The goal is to get out, finish the shopping and be back before anyone takes notice.”

He gave a long suffering sigh but peeled himself away from the wall and they followed her as she proceeded to saunter out the door and down the hallway, stopping at the staircase landing. Once there Chikage-obasan tapped her on the shoulder and began to slowly lead her down the stairs. They’d only made it about 3 steps down when a stair creaked. Both she and Chikage-obasan froze instantly and shot panicked glances towards the bottom of the stairs. She held her breath straining to listen for any sound of movement coming from the kitchen. She felt fabric brush her hand and turned her head to see KID smoothly move around her, pausing beside Chikage-obasan on the step in front of her. He cocked his head to the side and knelt down towards the stairs, brushing his fingertips on the one behind him as if for balance. Then he suddenly jumped up and out over the empty space in front of him. She imagined him landing at the base of the stairs, seeing the blood pool around his unmoving body, and desperately reached out to try and grab his sleeve and catch him. As if in slow motion she watched horrified as she missed his arm by centimeters and gravity took its effect. He plummeted to the floor only to land gracefully in a crouch, balancing low on one foot as his other swept out beside him for balance, with his head turned to the left. His eyes focused in the direction of the kitchen for only a few seconds before he straightened to his full height and beckoned to them. Chikage-obasan wasted no time pulling her down the rest of the stairs to meet him and led her around the stairs towards the garage door, grabbing her car keys off the console as they passed. KID followed them, locking and closing the door behind him as they entered the garage. Although it felt like an hour had passed the entire event took less than 4 minutes.

Due to the near death scare KID gave her, it wasn’t until they were getting into the car that she realized she’d had an actual conversation,  _ well part of one at least _ , with KID back in the house like it was completely normal. She paused a moment outside the car to reflect on this but Chikage-obasan started the car and KID opened the backseat door for her, allowing her to climb in first. She waited only another moment before she climbed into the vehicle and pulled the car door shut.  _ Huh. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as she thought _ . The idea brought a small smile to her face and it stayed the length of the trip back towards the city. Chikage-obasan managed the minor traffic like an expert and took them to a small but well-known mall on the outskirts of the city center and parked in the underground lot. 

“We made it my jailbirds!” Chikage-obasan laughed. “Now the adventure starts in earnest. Where should we go first?”

KID raised an eyebrow. “I thought this was supposed to be a short trip? You know: get in, get out, and get back before anyone knows we’re gone?”

She gave him a bright smile and clapped him on the shoulder. “Once you get to know Chikage-obasan better you’ll realize that there’s no such thing as a  _ short _ shopping trip when she’s involved.” 

His eyes were huge and he stared at the shoulder she was touching like it was going to bite him. Then in an abrupt move he practically ran to catch up to Chikage-obasan who was already entering the mall at a fast pace. She tried to contain her bubbling amusement as she followed them. 

_ Remember, this is  _ Kaitou KID _. He’s still a master criminal who runs around the police like it’s a play date rather than a major criminal offense and enjoys it. Regardless of who he is my job is to help watch him and keep him on the ‘straight-and-narrow’. I can’t let him distract me. _

It was hard to keep acting according to this logic when she watched him take one look at the clothes rack Chikage-obasan was picking off of and head in the opposite direction. Then again, considering Chikage-obasan was looking at clothing designed more with children in mind than an older teen she found it hard to blame him. She shook her head and followed him as he headed towards the men’s section and used it as a shortcut to reach the teen’s area on the other side. He picked through a few stacks of jeans, a rack of t-shirts and collared short-sleeves, and grabbed a light jacket. Then he headed around the corner into the neighboring aisle and she lost sight of him. 

She jumped to her feet, ran to the corner, and tripped over a hanger lying on the floor. She reached out to the side to try and grab something to stop her fall when a hand wrapped around her upper arm and pulled her back up. She sighed in relief and looked up, sticking her nose directly into KID’s chest. She shrieked and jumped back, nearly losing her balance again before she managed to steady herself. KID shook his head but didn’t say anything and walked back towards Chikage-obasan, who was now looking lost in the store’s main intersection. She rushed to catch up and whispered a quiet, “Thank you”, looking at him from the corner of her eye. 

He swallowed but stayed silent and continued moving until they met Chikage-obasan at the intersection. 

“You should say something before you pull a vanishing act like that”, Chikage-obasan scolded them. “I turned around and you were gone.” She paused, taking in the clothing KID held which was… actually not very much. 

KID gave a bright grin. “Telling me not to do something like that isn’t going to get you very far. It’s habit.”

The thought of that was concerning to say the least. KID moved like his name, like a phantom. He weaved around obstacles and other customers as if dancing and every movement was completely natural and silent. He hadn’t made any noise even when dealing with her flailing just minutes earlier and the idea that he was inclined to go where he saw fit without saying anything and moving like that… well it definitely wasn’t going to help them contain him. 

“Is that really all you picked out?” Chikage-obasan asked with a frown. “That’s only enough for a few days.”

“If you’re willing to stop by the subway station on the way back I have a drop bag in one of the lockers there. It has my essentials in it and I won’t need much extra clothing besides what’s there”, he told them. 

Chikage-obasan agreed to the extra stop and they all headed for the checkout counters in the front of the store. The payment went smoothly, although their cashier did have to step away to help a coworker deal with a difficult customer. Apparently some tanned teen was complaining, very loudly with a heavy accent, about… the prices of ball caps? Seriously? Once their cashier returned the sale went quickly. They didn’t hang around too much after they finished and headed back to the parking garage and the car. The subway station stop was also successful. Chikage-obasan did request that KID not leave the car for this stop, they both agreed that it would be too much temptation, and he agreed to give her the locker number and combination. Really the trip was rather pleasant… until they got back to the Kuroba’s house and her father was waiting for them on the doorstep.  _ Not good. _

She swallowed hard and got out of the car. Chikage-obasan had jumped out immediately after parking and had already approached her father, talking to him in a low voice. If it was an attempt to calm him down she had to say it was failing. Her father did not look happy. She moved to try and help explain but KID casually stepped in front of her and shoved his recovered bag in her father’s chest. 

“Good news”, KID said cheerfully. “While we were out Kuroba-san was kind enough to pick up an entire bag of potential evidence for you. You really should thank her for being so considerate!”

Her father looked confused. “Bag… what evidence!”

KID looked mildly disappointed. “My carefully hidden bag of extra clothing and necessities for situations like this of course. What were you thinking? That I hide out in a safe house when I’ve been shot with nothing but a single burning lamp for days on end? You need to get out more Keibu~”

“And this makes tonight’s events better why?” her father asked.

“Well”, KID replied. “Now you have an entire bag of items that is known to have belonged to me prior to being caught by you. Items which may or may not carry some evidence of where I’ve been previously. I mean, if you really don’t want it available I guess we could always return it…”

Her father’s eyes grew wide. “No!”, he barked. He grabbed the bag and held it to his side where it was out of reach. “No. I’ll be keeping this.”

KID nodded. “I figured. Just be quick about it. I grabbed a few sets of clothing to tide me over til you finish your tests but I’d rather have my things back sooner rather than later if it’s all the same to you. Now that we’ve settled that business I think I’m going to head to bed. It’s been a long day and my shoulder is starting to throb.” He proved this statement with a big yawn and left them standing on the front stoop to enter the house. Her father looked torn between screaming and crying at KID’s apparent lack of concern. Chikage-obasan patted him on the arm. “Look on the bright side” she told him. “At least he’s talking to us now.”


	10. An Unusual Love Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yusaku's POV
> 
> I'm so sorry about the extremely late post! I just wasn't satisfied with some parts of this and kept re-writing it until I was happy. The good news is that this chapter is twice as long as the others so hopefully that makes up for it?

He did not consider himself an impatient man. As a matter of fact, most people who knew him said that he was one of the most patient men they had ever met. Those who knew him and his family well took it a step further and related his easy-going nature as a natural complement to his wife’s more dramatic personality. He was the steadfast rock of the family that kept everything ‘grounded’ in the chaos that was their lives (of which was admittedly mostly his doing, as a result of his writing career). He didn’t take offense. He loved Yukiko dearly but she would be the first to admit that she could be outright flamboyant when she wanted to. She was emotional, flighty, and compassionate to a fault. He was rational, intransigent, and discerning. 

Ironically, he was anything but patient now. Shinichi had been missing for 8 years, 2 months, and 17 days without any kind of lead. He had, on occasion, consulted with the police on murder cases and he knew what the statistics were for kidnappings. After 24 hours with no word or ransom request the missing person was most likely deceased. He and his wife had spent that first week in terror. He’d driven to the police headquarters every few hours to check if they had any new information while combing through his past cases looking for potential suspects and motives. His wife had spent every waking hour beside the house phone, only leaving for absolute necessities before hurrying back. After the first two weeks passed without any witnesses or communication from the kidnappers both he and Yukiko had been forced to face reality. Unless a miracle occurred, Shinichi wasn’t coming home. 

That isn’t to say that he’d ever given up hope, seeing as no evidence or body had ever been found, but he’d long accepted the fact that any answers he did receive were probably not going to be what he wanted to hear. He was lucky though. Normally this kind of event tore families apart as wives and husbands couldn’t cope with the loss of a child. It led to fights and screaming matches that couldn’t be recovered from. He and Yukiko were one of the rare couples who’d been brought closer together by the tragedy and had thankfully pulled through by depending on each other. They had despaired and lamented at times but they’d continued their lives. Still, he’d never imagined something like this happening. In a way it was a godsend. Yes, his son was… well he still wasn’t entirely sure who or _what_ Shinichi had become (and the little he did know was _very_ concerning) but at least they _had_ Shinichi. It was more than they’d had for over 8 years. 

And that was the problem that led to his impatience now. He’d waited too long while fearing the worst only to be stopped even after Shinichi had been recovered. He owed a lot to Megure and the Kuroba’s over the years but they _still had his son_. He and Yukiko hadn’t even been allowed to visit him at the hospital. At this point he just needed to see Shinichi, to see for himself that his boy was okay. He needed to know that Shinichi was finally safe even if he wasn’t going to be living with them for the near future. 

He sank into a nearby armchair. That thought brought him back around to the reason _why_ Shinichi had to stay with the Kuroba’s. He felt both betrayed and at fault. If they hadn’t left that week for his writer’s conference, if he’d convinced Yukiko not to join him, if he’d been observant enough to see through Vineyard-san’s persona to the person she really was on the inside. Identifying criminals and picking apart crimes was something he was known for both in his writing and in real life and yet when it mattered most, when it had the potential to harm his family, he’d failed miserably. And the worst part was, he couldn’t even apologize to his family. Shinichi for obvious reasons, but Yukiko… god. He put his head in his hands. 

Yukiko had seemingly taken all the emotions and compassion she was known for and drawn into herself. Although she had been the one who brought up Vineyard Sharon as a possibility, she clearly never thought it could be true. She’d considered Vineyard-san a close friend and they continued to send periodic updates about their lives to each other even now. Vineyard-san knew about their efforts to find Shinichi and how it had torn them up to lose their son. The idea that she would actually have any knowledge of the event was unfathomable. But when Takagi-san had come forward the following day to tell everyone that Shinichi had confirmed it there was no way to deny it. He’d watched the shock set in as Yukiko had tried to process the information followed by utter despair. He’d immediately tried to comfort her but for the first time in their marriage, she’d turned away from him. Rejected him. They’d been married for over two decades and she’d never acted like this before, not even when Shinichi had first been found missing. 

It wasn’t until they’d arrived at their new Japanese residence later that morning that he received an answer. As she’d walked past him in the entryway she’d whispered a near silent apology for ever introducing their family to Vineyard Sharon before quickly disappearing upstairs and locking herself in a guest bedroom. He’d stood in shock in the entry hallway, and for a single moment, wished that Vineyard-San was in front of him. He wanted to force her to tell Yukiko that none of it was her fault, that Vineyard-san had taken advantage of them. But she wasn’t there, and Yukiko did not leave the bedroom for the rest of the day, leading them to where they were now. Yukiko completely withdrawn from the world, him wearing a path in the carpet from pacing, and both blaming themselves for their perceived part in their son’s kidnapping.

Things may have stayed this way the next day as well, if the phone didn’t ring that evening. He absent-mindedly answered, not expecting any calls of importance. He was wrong. 

The person on the other end only had two sentences to say. “I got Ginzo and Megure-keibu to agree. Would you and Yukiko like to come over?” Toichi asked.

**************

He pulled into the Kuroba’s driveway with ease and parked the car. He was nowhere near the kind of… _driver_ … that Yukiko was but he’d still managed to get them to the Kuroba’s in a decent amount of time. The drive had served to both re-energize the two of them and settle their previous unease. Yukiko was still more quiet than she’d normally be but her characteristic amiability had returned and he was feeling far steadier than he had in the last few days. He had, in fact, been calm enough to persuade Yukiko that it was still too early to invite over any (and all) of their acquaintances who had known Shinichi as a child, including both their long-time neighbor and friend Agasa and Shinichi’s only childhood friend Ran-chan. It had added nearly 15 minutes onto their arrival time, but he had finally convinced her that the previous rule of ‘don’t overwhelm Shinichi’ should still apply. 

And now they were here. He took a deep breath and exited the car, walking around to help Yukiko out. They walked up to the front door together. To anyone passing by he supposed it would seem like an ordinary couple visiting a friend’s home. The only indication otherwise was the tight grip his wife had on his bicep, the strain so much it had turned her fingers white. He reached across her body to press the doorbell and they waited. Chikage opened the door less than 2 minutes later. 

“Yukiko!” she cried, jumping out of the doorway to hug his wife. “You got here fast. How was your drive?”

Yukiko hugged her back, laughing. “It was fine. Traffic was a little lighter now that it’s the weekend so we made good time. Of course, not the fastest we could have done though. Yusaku refused to let me drive. Can you believe it?”

Chikage laughed. “I can. You must have been a race car driver in a past life Yukiko, you certainly drive like one. And that’s saying something considering what normal Tokyo drivers are like. Yusaku probably wanted to spare them your driving.”

Yukiko pouted. “He never lets me have any fun.”

He sighed. “You have plenty of fun as it is dear. I just try to keep you from having excess.”

Chikage held open the door as he and Yukiko entered the house and exchanged their shoes for house slippers. He set the car keys on the entrance console and followed his wife into the living room. Toichi was sitting in an arm chair along the far wall, fiddling with an oddly-shaped piece of metal. He briefly considered asking what it was for but decided he was better off not knowing. Nakamori-keibu was on the couch, using the coffee table to fill out paperwork. He left his wife and Chikage in the hallway and moved to sit next to the inspector.

“Anything interesting?” he asked. 

Nakamori-keibu snorted. “Paperwork. The last duty any officer signs up with the force for, I tell you. Over two decades with the force and I’ve yet to meet a single officer who _likes_ filling out their reports.”

He chuckled. “A necessary evil I’ve been told.”

“Doesn’t make it any better.” Nakamori-keibu grunted. “At least this set isn’t as tedious as usual.”

“Really?” he asked, a bit surprised. 

“Hmm”, Nakamori-keibu nodded, leaning backwards to stretch out his spine. “It’s the paperwork for KID’s release into our custody. It took a while to get the forms in since both the Superintendent General and the PSB wanted to make changes and approve it.”

_I didn’t realize the PSB was already involved. Why were they taking an interest in this?_

“Why are the PSB so interested?” he asked. “I can see how they would want to be involved as there is still an unknown, armed criminal at large from the heist but they’ve never been ‘dedicated’ to bringing Kaitou KID to justice like overseas groups such as Interpol. They shouldn’t be concerned with Shinichi to the point that they would interfere with the Tokyo Metropolitan police’s decisions in this matter.” 

Toichi paused in his fiddling and slowly set his material down by his side. Nakamori-keibu shook his head and tossed his pen onto the coffee table as well. The inspector opened his mouth to begin speaking but Toichi beat him to it.

“It’s my fault”, Toichi told him. It was the most apologetic he’d ever seen the other man. “You’ve known, unofficially, of my past alias for so long that I forgot I never actually explained how it started. That was my mistake.” 

He prepared to argue but Toichi held a hand in the air. “To make a long story short, I interfered with some criminals in the middle of their heist and inadvertently became Kaitou KID for the first time. Rumors spread and I was approached by an individual representing a self-proclaimed underground criminal organization to locate and steal a gemstone they were after. Some background research revealed they were active murders and involved in various levels of criminal activity. I refused and they attempted to kill me, eventually somehow figured out my civilian identity and murdered my child. I had chosen not to go to the police prior to that for the safety of my family, Snake had mentioned having moles in the police, but afterwards I didn’t care anymore. I went to Ginzo, who got Superintendent Shintaro involved. Superintendent General Hakuba later became interested because of the potential moles in the police and he escalated the matter to the PSB as well due to the ‘underground organization’ aspect. When Shinichi-kun appeared as the second Kaitou KID… well, a lot of people were interested even during his initial appearance.”

Nakamori-keibu pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pants pocket. He didn’t light any but moved one between his fingers and stared at it. “There was definitely a lot going on back then”, the inspector admitted. “When I first brought you to Superintendent Shintaro and told him I’d caught the Kaitou KID he thought I’d finally lost it. You missed this part Toichi, since he sent you to wait in the corridor, but he actually pulled out my file and told me how much unused vacation time I had accrued. Then he gave me a request form for _using it_ .” The inspector shook his head. “It took us 30 minutes to convince him it wasn’t some type of elaborate prank and he didn’t believe me until after you _demonstrated_ how you would go about _breaking into our file room to determine how far we were in our Kaitou KID investigations_.” Nakamori-keibu sighed. “The whole affair was a mess and we had to go through it all over again when KID reappeared.”

He looked on as the two men reminisced over the difficulties they had faced during that period. It saddened him in a way. He and Yukiko considered the Kuroba’s close friends if not extended family members now, but they hadn’t grown that close until after Shinichi’s disappearance. Although prior to that event, while Yukiko genuinely liked and admired them, he had only considered the couple acquaintances himself. In hindsight he couldn’t help but wonder if he could have helped them back then if they’d all been closer. They’d really bonded over the shared loss of a child but the aspects and characteristics that formed the basis of their mutual affection were always present. 

_Maybe if we had taken the time to really get to know each other earlier he would have felt like he could come to me for help. If nothing else, I could have at least given him advice or put out feelers through my connections with the police. It would have been better than him working blind and hoping for the best._

He gave himself another moment of self-reprimand for his previous actions, or rather lack thereof, before pushing those thoughts to the side and focusing on Nakamori-keibu. It seemed the inspector had been trying to get his attention. 

“I’m sorry” he said, “I was a bit lost in thought.”

“Understandable”, Nakamori-keibu told him. “There’s a lot to wrap your head around. Since you and your wife are here I wanted to let you know that while the official DNA results won’t be in for at least a few more days we did get KID’s blood results back. B-. 

_B-, a rare blood type among the Japanese. Less than 0.1% of the Japanese population had a B- blood type. Shinichi was one of them. Combined with the match of physical features it was an identification almost as good as DNA confirmation._

He sank into the couch in relief. His breathing was easy and it felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He hadn’t realized until now how much the chance that KID wasn’t Shinichi had been weighing on him. “So what happens now?” he asked.

“For now we proceed as originally planned”, Nakamori-keibu told him. “A carefully screened corrections officer came down yesterday to outfit KID with a GPS and alert enabled ankle monitor. Both the Kuroba’s property and my own home have been lined with motion sensors and will be monitored. We don’t have to worry about any type of aerial escape while KID’s arm is healing but it may be something to consider in the future. For now we need to keep KID contained for both information and his own safety, but ultimately the goal is still the takedown of this criminal organization. Once we are convinced there is no more significant danger to anyone involved KID will be released into your custody.”

He nodded his understanding and Nakamori-keibu continued, “The investigation would go much faster though if that brat of yours would cooperate. He doesn’t say two words unless it has no relevance to anything important. He’s given us nothing to work with except for the information we gained through his warning to Takagi-keiji, which doesn’t amount to much in the long run.” the inspector grumbled. “We’ve got the name of a famous actress, who’s never had so much as a speeding ticket, who moonlights as a murdering master of disguise and could disappear at a moment’s notice. Then we’ve got a vanishing gunman who’s armed and likely to shoot to kill to escape if we ever _do_ manage to find him. And let’s not forget that we don’t even _have_ an identity for him besides the codename…” the inspector’s rant tapered off into silence. 

“Ginzo?” Toichi prompted, concerned about the sudden muteness.

“The operative who approached you. You mentioned a name earlier. What was it?”

He was astounded by the man’s sudden bout of seriousness and judging by the widened eyes Toichi was as well. After several long seconds Toichi answered, “Are you referring to Snake?”

Nakamori-keibu stared them both down without speaking before lowering his head and chuckling darkly before falling silent. It was almost frightening in its sheer difference from the inspector’s usual boisterous and loud attitude. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Snake”, the inspector said. “Snake, it’s always Snake!”

“Yes, Snake”, Toichi said. “What about Snake?”

“It was Snake!” the inspector yelled, bursting out of his seat. “Don’t you understand it’s always _been_ Snake! Snake was what KID called the gunman at the heist! God f*cking d*mnnit...”

The inspector’s colorful language was abruptly cut off as a feminine hand grabbed the cigarette from his hand. They watched, mute, as she twirled the small stick in her hand while looking at her father from under her lashes. “And just _what_ were you planning to do with this?” the girl asked. 

He winced, thinking of how Ran-chan would scold Mouri-san. _An angry teenager was not something he’d wish on anyone_. He moved closer to Toichi and watched, wary, as Aoko-chan took her father to task for his smoking habit. Occasionally Nakamori-keibu would attempt to interject in his defense but Aoko-chan kept steam-rolling over him. The inspector’s daughter was livid and it didn’t seem like she was going to stop anytime soon. She reminded him of the priestesses and witches in legends, the ones who would strike down those who opposed them with lightning bolts from their eyes. He fully believed Nakamori Aoko was fully capable of the same caliber of reprimand. This continued for several minutes, whereas Nakamori-keibu gradually shrunk back more and Aoko-chan grew louder, until Toichi cautiously started to step towards the two to try and keep Nakamori-keibu’s head on his shoulders. His friend had barely begun to move his foot when a lean body smoothly stepped around them and made its way to the furious teenager. 

Toichi stopped and looked at him, unsure, but he didn’t show any kind response, his eyes fixed on his son for the first time in over 8 years. 

Shinichi was just above average height for a 16 year-old. He had the lean build of a runner with slender limbs, but the short-sleeve shirt he wore showed defined muscle movement as he held a hand up to Aoko-chan. His hands most showed the physical evidence of his ‘craft’. The fingers were like a pianist’s, long and slender, with neat nails and his palms had callouses in unusual places. There was a small scar reminiscent of a bird claw under his right thumb and a patch of silvery skin on the side of his left index finger from an old burn injury. His brown hair had darkened slightly with age but retained its characteristic cowlick. His features had matured and while it was hard to find the bright innocence Shinichi had contained (like all children) as a 7 year-old he had grown into his facial features almost exactly as the facial recognition software had predicted. It was both comforting and off-putting to see pieces of the boy he’d raised altered by the growth and development he’d missed as Shinichi had aged. Shinichi had always been light-footed as a child but he now moved with a dancer’s grace, smooth and certain, and he stood with the kind of confidence that came from experience and self-assurance. He idly wondered if Shinichi still played soccer. 

“Now now”, Shinichi told Aoko-chan, somehow both teasingly and appeasing at the same time. “Let’s cut the old man some slack. He wasn’t actually trying to smoke, didn’t even have a lighter out. You’ve already made your point anyway.”

Aoko-chan gave the other teen an appraising look. “Reeaallly”, she said in a dangerously even voice. “You think I made my point?”

“Absolutely”, Shinichi assured her. “Haven’t you heard of the ‘carrot and stick’ method? Use the stick to remind them of the punishment for bad behavior but dangle the carrot when they follow the rules. You showed Nakamori-keibu the stick, now you have to offer a carrot for the next time he _refrains_ from smoking to reinforce the good behavior. The goal is to make him _want_ to do well.”

Aoko-chan raised an eyebrow. “And that really works? Seems like nonsense to me.” she said. Her fingers loosened and the cigarette dropped to the floor. Nakamori-keibu panickedly nudged it backwards and hid it under his shoe as his daughter spoke. 

“It absolutely works!” Shinichi said incredulously. “You know, two years ago I was having this problem with my fireworks supplier…” he nonchalantly threw an arm over the girl’s shoulder and continued to describe his previous applications of said methodology as he guided her away from the men and into the kitchen. The action was so neatly done that they barely realized he’d intentionally distracted Aoko-chan from the argument until he casually threw a wink over his shoulder towards them as the two teens passed through the kitchen doorway. 

“That… that was masterful”, Toichi murmured. 

He couldn’t disagree but didn’t say anything and silently followed the other two men as they moved into the kitchen themselves. As it turns out, Aoko-chan had originally come into the living room to tell them dinner was ready and Yukiko had helped Chikage set the table while they were speaking in the other room. The dinner that followed was a relatively simple affair. Shinichi continued to regale Aoko-chan with stories of his heist preparation mishaps, as requested by Chikage and Yukiko who were completely enthralled, while the others listened in without comment, trying to pick out possible lies and any information that could be gleaned from the tales. He saw Nakamori-keibu lean over and whisper a few words to Toichi at one point but overall the conversation went uninterrupted until the meal was finished and they began cleaning up. 

“This is beautiful glassware Chikage.” Yukiko remarked as she handed the cups to Toichi to be washed. 

“Thank you. They were a departure gift from a friend when I left France with Toichi.” Chikage replied. “They may be more delicate than typical dishware but I love to use them regardless. I’ve occasionally invited company over just as an excuse to pull them out and use them.”

“Now that I think about it, I don’t believe I ever asked you how you came to live in Japan with Toichi.” Yukiko noted. “I remember you telling me once that you’d only known him for a few weeks when you decided to travel with him on the rest of his tour that year and by the end of it you were applying for a Japanese visa. How did he convince you to stay with him so quickly?”

Chikage laughed. “It’s a… _unique_ story but I suppose it started like the usual fairy tales. I was a young French woman with a talent in makeup and gymnastics. During my early twenties I became heavily involved in charitable and volunteer work due to the influence of a friend and my own beliefs. One shelter that I volunteered for was associated with a local church. It was a small but lively parish and the parishioners were good people who made an honest living. Some time after I began working with them they placed a bid in auction for a particular religious artifact they had been saving for quite a while. It had originally belonged to the church but had to be sold decades earlier during an economic depression. A short time after the purchase they became aware that the artifact was a fake.”

“Oh no”, Aoko-chan breathed. “That’s horrible! Those poor people… did they go to the police?”

Chikage nodded. “They did, but the authorities told them that the auction was not one of good reputation. In fact, although the church had been unaware of this at the time the auction was actually fronted by several organizers through underground channels and was considered illegal. The church wasn’t going to be punished but there was nothing the authorities could do as the individuals responsible for the fraud had already disappeared. In short, the church had been swindled quite thoroughly. 

It upset me. These were normal people who kept honest and simple lives. They’d donated for a good cause and had been taken advantage of. I decided I’d look into the matter myself and see if there was anything I could do to help them so I started researching. It took me several months but I eventually received word that similar individuals were holding another auction in a nearby town. I snuck in and got a good look at the auction inventory. Among the items was another copy of the church’s artifact. I stayed until the end of the auction and then followed the organizers back to their headquarters. Later that night I watched as they took out the actual artifacts and items from storage and used them to forge copies. Once they left for the night I removed every last original and took it with me back to the police. I left them in a box with an explanation note and the organizers’ address at the police station and took the artifact to the church, leaving it on the altar. When the news broke the next morning the parish considered it an act of God. That the world had returned things to the state they were meant to be in. I had never felt more honest or good in my life than when I committed that act, despite the fact that it was technically a crime in itself. I ended up doing it again, and again for other people and groups and developed an identity: the Phantom Lady.”

“The Phantom Lady! The Phantom Lady was a thief”, Nakamori-keibu interjected. 

“Perhaps to the general public and police.” Chikage admitted. “But I never stole for the sheer profit of it. Of course, I eventually got myself into a bit of hot water. I was fooled, and replaced an original piece for a replica at the direction of a man I had trusted. He then forced me to do the same to other pieces. Once he proved the item in the museum or house was a fake he could sell other copies as the ‘true original’ to multiple buyers. Even if they discovered they had been deceived as well they couldn’t lodge an official complaint because they had illegally bought known stolen goods. Eventually I managed to get myself out and started to go around removing the replicas, but the group responsible didn’t appreciate my efforts as much as the owners. They decided that if they wanted to keep their enterprise running they’d have to... _remove_ me from the picture.”

“Chikage”, Yukiko breathed, stunned. He could feel his own face tightening at the realization his friend very well could have been murdered all those years ago. If there had been even the slightest change she would have been dead before he even knew her. The idea was horrifying. He glanced to his left and winced. Neither of their reactions compared to the Nakamori’s. Nakamori-keibu’s fingers were clenched around the table edge so tight they were white to the knuckles. He didn’t appear to like what Chikage was describing one bit. Next to him, Aoko-chan’s eyes were wide and her mouth was frozen open, gasping. She leaned forward in her seat, completely invested in the story.

Chikage continued, “Everything came to a head one night. Someone had sent a notice to the police that I would be stealing an item from a motorcycle exhibition in the Eiffel Tower. It was a large diamond embedded in a motorcycle to commemorate the owner’s winning record on the circuit. I evaded security and made it to the exhibition to inspect the diamond. Upon inspection it was just as I suspected. The diamond was a forgery.” Chikage laughed. “I’d been extra cautious with my preparation and approach that night since it was clear someone was ‘calling me out’ so to speak. I made sure the entire exhibition floor was empty and the guards knocked out before I went in. So you can imagine my surprise when I said aloud ‘this diamond is fake’ and someone congratulated me.”

He choked. _Who would respond to a statement so sarcastically?_

“I beg your pardon!” Toichi laughed. “I was simply applauding your sharp eye!”

_Okay, that made perfect sense. It was definitely the type of sarcastic comment Toichi would give to a stranger._

“You absolutely terrified me!” Chikage complained to her husband. She looked at Aoko-chan and Shinichi. “I turn around and there’s a random man in a strange get-up staring me down and clapping from the other side of the room. And then he starts walking towards me completely unconcerned with the laser light system that covered the room. It was ludicrous and anyone in their right mind would have been scared!”

Toichi gave a love-lorn sigh and laid a hand over his heart. “You were spectacular my dear. Magnificent. Watching you make your way through the laser lights made my heart race. A woman of your caliber… I just had to introduce myself.”

Chikage smiled at her husband. “As cheesy as it was, it truly was a magical moment. Even if you were dressed like a fictional character.”

“It was only a white suit with some embellishments. And it was for a magic show in Paris modeled after Arsène Lupin. Besides, you can’t mock Kaitou KID’s suit. It’s become an internationally known symbol!”

“Setting aside costumes and their purpose, what happened next? Did the two of you leave and run into each other later? Is that how you got to know each other?” Aoko-chan asked.

“Oh, absolutely not.” Chikage told her. “It was a trap like I was afraid of. I ended up handcuffed to the motorcycle and President Gouzu showed up with his gang of followers intending to kill me. And Toichi as well if he interfered. They were blocking the elevator, the only exit, so Toichi decided we’d get creative in our escape of the building.”

He couldn’t help but smile. That sounded like his friend. And considering how KID dealt with the police… “Let me guess”, he said. “He knocked them out and left them there for the police to find?” 

“For once you’re wrong Yusaku”, Chikage told them. “He jumped on the back of the motorcycle with me and drove it out the window.”

They all stared at the couple in shock. _That was a joke right? There’s no way that actually happened._

“Ahh. The para-glider.” Shinichi’s voice cut through the thick silence unexpectedly. It was the first time his son had spoken during the story. He looked over to see Shinichi nodding knowingly. “It was a good choice”, the boy continued. “Even if you knocked out Gouzu’s men the police were likely to wake up at any moment and you’d run right into them. The cleanest way out was through a window and if the men were armed you might as well use the motorcycle for speed. It would have taken you a few seconds to get the handcuffs undone anyway and they weren’t likely to just give you that time.”

That… was very sound logic. He was impressed. He still took a moment to feel cheated that his son looked at life and crime through a thief’s mindset. 

“Exactly”, Toichi told Shinichi. “She may not have agreed at the time but it was the best solution. And it worked so she really shouldn’t be complaining.”

“I’m not complaining, I just wish you would have told me that we weren’t actually going to die as we went through the window.” Chikage told Toichi. She then turned to Aoko-chan and gestured at her husband. “So then we were free-falling from the top of the Eiffel Tower and I’m still handcuffed to a motorcycle which was acting as a weight. And rather than explain himself, this one here decided to kiss me and state he’d become a legend so big everyone would forget about the Phantom Lady and I could live my life in peace.”

“That’s some big talk”, Yukiko commented.

“Hmmm” Chikage hummed. “He also asked if I’d like to join his jewelry box. For the record”, she turned to look at Aoko-chan. “Normally if a man were to say something like that to me, I’d shove my boot somewhere unspeakable at the implication they felt they could ‘keep’ me. And I heavily advise you to do the same darling, should it ever happen to you. We certainly aren’t objects to be set on display for men. The only reason Toichi got away with it was because I understood the sentiment behind the offer: a place where I could be safe and use my talents as I wished rather than being at someone else’s beck and call. Somewhere where there would always be something exciting happening and I’d never be bored.” She sighed. “Toichi released me from the handcuffs and flew me to safety while the bike crash landed on the street below. We flew off into the sunset. It was somehow the most peaceful and freeing moments of my life. I felt that I’d finally found a kindred spirit and someone who could keep up with me. I knew it would be foolish to let him go so I took him up on his offer. And I’ve never looked back.”

“That’s… that’s so romantic.” Aoko-chan breathed. “It’s like a modern take on a fairy tail if you ignore the vigilantism. It’s beautiful!”

Chikage gave a loving smile and rested her hand on top of her husband’s. “I don’t know that everyone would agree it was classical romance. It was crazy, chaotic, and abnormal… but that was what made it perfect for us. So I consider it one of the most wonderful and romantic moments I’ve ever had.” She smiled at Toichi.

Aoko-chan started to say something else but was cut off as she gave a large yawn. A slight redness spread to her cheeks and she looked sheepishly at the table. Nakamori-keibu checked his watch and his eyebrows rose. “That went fast, it’s almost 11 pm already. We better head home so that you can get some sleep. You still have school tomorrow.” the inspector told his daughter. Aoko-chan looked like she wanted to argue but she yawned again and instead nodded. They said their goodbyes and the inspector shook both his and his wife’s hand before leaving. He glanced out the kitchen window to check how dark it had gotten and thought the inspector had the right idea. It had been a fairly good visit and although they hadn’t had very much personal time with Shinichi, he thought the evening went well. He turned to Yukiko, who was hovering extremely close to Shinichi, and said, “Perhaps we should go home as well. It is a bit of a drive and we don’t want to stay out too late.” 

His wife pouted. “But I barely got to talk to Shinichi while we were here! Can’t we stay a bit longer?” 

As she was speaking he saw Shinichi noticeably wince when she said his name. “You don’t mind if we stay longer do you Shinichi?” She asked with just the slightest hint of desperation in her voice. Shinichi gave a slight twitch again and lowered his eyes just slightly. It was apparent he was extremely uncomfortable. Rather than answer Yukiko he took a step closer to his son. “Shinichi? Is everything alright?” he asked. He understood how his wife felt and he wanted nothing more than to stay with Shinichi himself, but the last thing they could afford at this stage was to drive Shinichi away however inadvertently. 

Shinichi looked at the floor for a moment before squaring his shoulders and lifting his head to look him in the eye. “I understand it probably isn’t what you want to hear… but I really would prefer it at this point in time if you would call me KID and not Shinichi.”

His mouth dropped open. _That was the last thing he expected Shinichi to say._

Shinichi looked at him. “Please understand that it has nothing to do with you or your actions. It’s not like I don’t like my name or where I come from, and it’s definitely not because I’m angry with the two of you or anything like that. It’s just that the name Shinichi reminds me of… of more painful times in my life. Times when I didn’t get much say in what happened to me. KID is the identity that I chose. It’s a name the BO had no part in. I _alone_ made the current Kaitou KID and that means something to me.” By the end Shinichi’s entire head was bent down, staring at the floor.

He swallowed hard and took a minute to breath. As if from a distance he heard himself say, “It’s alright. We understand the… _circumstances_ aren’t ideal. It’s going to take a while for all of us to adjust. We can call you KID if it makes you feel more comfortable.”

Yukiko began to raise a hand to Shinichi’s shoulder but let it fall uselessly to her side. “Is it okay if we come by again?” she asked quietly. “To see you and… talk?”

Shin… KID nodded slowly. “I’d… I’d like that”, KID admitted. 

He managed to pull some semblance of a smile to his face and motioned to Yukiko to say her goodbyes. He shook Toichi’s hand and received a hug from Chikage. As he and Yukiko headed towards the living room to pick up their jackets he saw KID start to sit down at the kitchen table again where he was cut off by Chikage. 

“Nope. None of that”, Chikage said. “You’ve had a long day too and if everyone is leaving then it’s time for bed.” 

Shin… KID huffed and pouted a little, but ultimately complied when Chikage showed no intention of caving. He told everyone goodnight and left the room and began heading upstairs. He and Yukiko watched their son move up the stairs to the second floor until he was out of view. Then he picked up their car keys and left the house, closing the door behind them. As they got in and he started the car he mentally evaluated the evening. _It may not have been the immediate relationship he and Yukiko had hoped for_ , he mused, _but they definitely had a good start and something to work with._ And for the time being, he could work with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope Yusaku doesn't seem to OOC. I tried to keep him as close to his canon personality as I could while describing how I thought he'd feel in this situation. I wanted to get the emotion and loss across without it being overwhelming. It's not easy losing a child and I think both Yusaku and Yukiko would blame themselves for it. They leave Shinichi alone a lot in the series but they love their son and always come back if he needs them.


	11. A Faulty Deduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hakuba's POV
> 
> Sorry about how long this took to post. I'm struggling with the next few chapters as there was never a concrete plan for their content like the beginning chapters of the fic. Things are also crazy work-wise with the pandemic so expect larger gaps between chapters for the foreseeable future. On the bright side, we have another long chapter!

He’d seen a lot in his days with Scotland Yard. Children forced from their own front yards, the elderly taken advantage of, families turning on families out of greed and spite, innocents left to rot on the side of the road. But in all his time of aiding in police work he’d never seen or heard of anything like this. He’d never even imagined it would be possible.

_ What were the police thinking? ‘Rehabilitation’? Someone who had committed a crime was by definition a criminal and should be processed through the system like any other criminal. It’s abhorrent that anyone would not only release a criminal but show  _ support _ for their actions. This sort of travesty would never occur at Scotland Yard! I can’t believe father is actually not only allowing but  _ encouraging _ this… this… this  _ desecration _ of the criminal justice system! _

He was drawn from his internal suffering by his father’s quiet “Saguru?” He took a deep breath and looked out the window. Traffic was lighter than normal, possibly due to the heavy rain Tokyo had been experiencing for the last few days. The trip from his father’s home outside the city limits to their current location near the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters had gone quickly and he’d barely noticed the time passing once his father had begun explaining the police’s deal with KID to him. That alone was a sign of how shocking the news was to him, that  _ he _ would  _ lose track of time _ ! 

“I don’t like this”, he said suddenly. His father looked startled. He didn’t blame him. He couldn’t ever recall sounding that unhinged before. “I don’t know what was said to convince you that a  _ thief _ deserves to get off scot-free but you can’t seriously be allowing this deal to continue. Whatever information and expertise he offered isn’t worth setting him loose. This isn’t like the normal agreement to exchange information in return for a reduced sentence. Once you let someone like the Kaitou KID go you won’t get another opportunity to get him back! You’re effectively letting him get away with everything he’s done! That isn’t right!” He could feel his face turn red as he finished, breathing erratically. He lowered his head resolutely to glare at the floor.  _ It wasn’t fair! _

He briefly felt his father’s eyes on him as he looked at him briefly before turning his attention back to the road. “Saguru.” his father said. It wasn’t a question, but rather a command. A demand for his attention. What would you say justice is?” his father asked. 

He didn’t even have to think as he promptly answered, “The maintenance or administration of what is just by law.”  _ Why was his father asking such a simple question? Was it really the time for this? _

His father sighed and he watched, astounded, as he gently shook his head. Even when he was just starting as a detective and wasn’t sure of his crime explanations, his father had never blatantly indicated he was wrong like this. “Justice”, his father stated, “is the quality of being just. Righteousness. Equitableness or moral rightness. It may or may not be lawfulness, but it will  _ always _ be the act of upholding the rightness of a cause. You’re young now and I know this may not make sense to you yet, that lawfulness and rightness may not always coincide, but as you grow older you’ll see it. The law is not a ‘catch all’. It may be cliché, but the metaphorical ‘gray area’ takes up much more space in some cases than either the black or white and sometimes adjustments have to be made to account for it. Even in police matters.”

He remained silent, and took a moment to note his father’s words, scoring them into his memory for future reference even as he mentally refuted them. In the rare cases when his father gave serious advice like this he listened. He may have issues with his father’s overly carefree personality, sometimes being actively embarrassed by the man, but his father  _ was _ the Superintendent General of the Tokyo police. That wasn’t a position someone achieved overnight or by accident. At one point his father had demonstrated the intelligence, intuition, and dedication to earn the respect and trust of the entire Tokyo police force and the general public. He took care to give those accomplishments and the man who achieved them the respect they deserved but sometimes he felt his father was doing the exact opposite of what he should.

_ And particularly so in this case. Father had his moments but he was  _ clearly  _ wrong this time. He may be young but he wasn’t a fool. He knew that things weren’t always as straightforward as they seemed but this case wasn’t like that! Father was ignoring the direct actions of Kaitou 1412. It wasn’t like someone was forced at gunpoint to commit a crime, there was clear criminal intent here! They had a criminal who actively stole from the public and dragged the police force’s name through the mud. Someone who made no secret about his intentions and stole from the public in such a way that his actions  _ couldn’t  _ be ignored. And this was someone his father wanted him to, what?  _ Pardon?  _ He didn’t know what kind of stunt or trick Kaitou KID had pulled to sway his father’s opinion but he saw right through it. And if he was going to be the only one who sought to put the thief in his place... then so be it. It was his duty. He was, after all, a detective. _

He nodded, satisfied with the conclusion he had come to. His father would thank him for keeping his head when KID eventually showed his true colors. It was only a matter of time. In the meantime though, he was glad that they were heading to the police headquarters considering the circumstances. He was sure the task force officers were as  _ pleased  _ with this situation as he was and it was best that he pick out the ones he could count on for backup early on. With the way the supervisory officers were apparently treating this it was imperative he be prepared immediately to make sure he didn’t miss anything of importance as the situation progressed. 

9 minutes and 25 seconds later his father drove into the police’s parking garage and pulled into his parking spot. He followed his father through the garage’s basement level into the connecting entrance to the headquarters building. His father was greeted by every officer who took notice of them as they made their way through security towards the reception area. Once there they headed left towards the elevators. They entered the first empty elevator and took it to the 9th floor where serial theft was located. Serial theft, a section of Division 2, contained the groups of officers assigned to recurring or specialty theft cases. The Kaitou KID task force also kept their offices there. 

They exited the elevator and he followed his father down a hallway to the right. They passed a few smaller office spaces and areas of desk clusters until his father finally came to a stop at the working area at the far end of the floor and began greeting a younger officer at one of the desks. He listened for a few seconds but directed his attention to his surroundings when the officer in question continued to stutter out salutations to his father. The area was similar, if not a bit larger, to the other sections they’d passed. The desks were arranged into smaller groups to maximize space capacity with large information boards outlining the perimeter. There was a small office tucked away in the far corner, which he presumed belonged to the infamous Inspector Nakamori Ginzo. The opposite corner contained a large white board which appeared to contain detailed building blueprints. He took a closer look.  _ Hhm. Judging by the clearly marked camera and security locations and the building layout it’s the blueprints for a museum. KID’s last heist location? It doesn’t bode well if they routinely leave out such sensitive, and classified, information.  _ He scoffed.  _ Working with these officers is going to take more work than I originally anticipated if this is how they operated.  _

He jumped a bit, startled, when a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder.

“Aren’t you coming son?” his father asked with his typical easy smile. 

He sighed a little,  _ it appeared his father’s ‘everyday’ personality was back _ , but complied and followed his father towards the corner office. His father rapped twice on the office door and politely waited until they heard a gruff, “It’s open.” before opening the door. The room’s layout and furnishing was characteristic of what he expected from the lead inspector of a dedicated task force. The inspector’s desk took up most of the wall opposite the office’s door and there were a few framed photographs and knick knacks on the desk’s right corner. The other side of the desk held what looked like a large calendar and a small desk light. There were 2 chairs arranged facing the desk and another in the far corner behind it. Filing cabinets lined the left side of the room while the right wall was filled with a corkboard, white board, and a large map of Japan. All three displayed numerous tags, sticky notes, and pinned documents. The map was filled with multi-colored push pins tagged with dates. Nakamori-keibu was working at his desk and didn’t look up as they entered. He appeared to be stalled in his work, propping his head up on his left hand while his right tapped persistently on a piece of paper in front of him. None of this would have been out of the ordinary, if it wasn’t for the unusual state of the office.

The room was a mess. Nearly every one of the file cabinets’ drawers were pulled open to various degrees with noticeable chunks of files pulled out. The files themselves were scattered across the room. Some were left sitting in piles on the tops of the cabinets or in stacks on the floor and in the room’s corners. Others were open, spilling across the desk and floor around it. Sheets of loose paperwork and reports were scattered on top of everything else covering everything but a small trail that led into the room and around the desk, which Nakamori-keibu apparently used to get around. It looked like a disaster zone. 

He looked around and felt his mouth gape in horror while his father entered the office and took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk. He quickly followed, dropping into the empty seat beside him while considering the somewhat deranged-looking inspector.  _ What the dickens was going on here?! _

His father still displayed his amicable smile and gently tapped the inspector’s desk after a few more seconds of silence passed. Finally, Nakamori-keibu looked up and seemed to realize that they were in the room for the first time. The inspector rose to his feat and saluted his father with a quick “Sir”. His father waved his hand, signaling to Nakamori-keibu he could drop his decorum, and gestured to the mess of paper on the desk. 

“It’s certainly a great effort, but is it really the time to be spring cleaning?” his father asked pleasantly.

Nakamori-keibu sat back down and gave a low groan. “That’s the last thing on my mind right now. I’ve been at it for hours now and still haven’t found what I’m looking for. At this rate spring cleaning won’t be done in this room until next winter.”

“What could you possibly be looking for that requires you to destroy your office?” he asked indignantly. 

The inspector turned away from his father to give him a once over. The man didn’t seem all that impressed by what he saw.  _ Join the club. _ “What’s with the brat?” Nakamori-keibu huffed. He ground his teeth together. The one thing he hated most was when people discounted him or his abilities merely because of his age. 

“Ah. Nakamori-keibu, may I introduce my son Hakuba Saguru. It was previously planned for him to spend the upcoming school term here in Japan and I thought he may be the solution to your current problem. Saguru, this is Nakamori Ginzo. The lead inspector on the Kaitou KID case and the head of the Kaitou KID task force.” 

He rose from his chair and gave a short bow in greeting, which Nakamori-keibu returned before they retook their seats. His father continued, “Although that problem no longer appears to be what’s weighing most on your mind. To quote my son, what is going on?”

Nakamori-keibu sighed deeply and said, “There’s been a development. Possibly. Still too early to say definitively but there  _ is _ something nagging at me. The other night Toichi mentioned a few things in passing about his time as KID and he referenced a certain individual. Snake. That is the same term KID used in reference to the heist gunman. It’s always possible that the organization assigns codenames to individuals based on their assignments and that a codename could refer to different people depending on the time period but…” Nakamori-keibu paused a moment. “With a group this methodical what are the chances that they would have multiple operatives for a codename with the same ‘specialty’ and general conduct in under a decade?”

His father’s face drew in a little, mulling that thought over. He frowned, unable to fully follow the conversation. His father had described the situation of course but hadn’t had the time to cover every detail. He got that this ‘Snake’ was the individual who shot KID at the last heist but was this about another Snake interacting with the previous Kaitou KID?

“You may be on to something.” his father finally admitted. “But even if the two are the same individual it doesn’t provide us with any additional information. We never managed to identify the man dealing with Kuroba-san and confirming it is the same man will not lead us to his current location. And without a prior identification we have no way to confirm they are one and the same.”

“Maybe”, Nakamori-keibu mused. “I’ve been looking through to find any information we may have picked up back then about Toichi’s ‘Snake’ trying to find an accurate general description. I don’t want to rely solely on Toichi’s recollection since so much time has passed but I did see some defining facial characteristics during July’s heist. If I can find an old statement to match it to we can at least say we’ve been dealing with the same man all this time. It may not be a name but it could give us leverage with KID. After all, he did give Takagi-keiji information about Vermouth after we identified her.”

“Excellent idea.” his father said. “If you can’t find anything detailed enough just inform Shintaro-keishi. I’ll inform our contact with the PSB that we may require a copy of their case file, it could have additional information in it.”

Nakamori-keibu grunted before setting his pen down on the desk and cocking his head to the side. “So what other problem were you referring to earlier? The one that Hakuba-kun is supposed to help with?”

His father laughed. “I’m glad you asked but before we get into that, where  _ is _ our illustrious KID? I thought he was supposed to be in the office today?”

“He is”, Nakamori-keibu confirmed. “Toichi was bringing him over with my daughter, but had to stop to pick up some supplies for one of his upcoming shows.” The inspector glanced towards the wall clock by the door. “They should be here shortly.”

“Good, good”, his father responded. “Best the kids get to know each other beforehand. It may be a bit early to pronounce them friends but if they can at least get used to, what do teenagers call it now Saguru, ‘hanging out’?” 

He stared at his father stunned, wondering if the man had finally lost his sanity.  _ Where is he going with this? _ Nakamori-keibu looked just as lost. 

His father noticed his unease and waved a hand in the air. “Don’t worry, there’s no reason to be upset. We can work out all of the details once Kuroba-san arrives with KID. That way we only have to explain everything once, right Nakamori-keibu?” His father laughed gayly. He and the inspector didn’t. 

He was just about to demand answers-  _ what  _ the hell  _ was his father talking about _ \- when he heard a low, smooth voice outside the door. There was a short knock, the type that suggested the culprit wasn’t asking permission but rather alerting the inspector they were about to enter, and the door opened. A well dressed man entered the office followed by two teenagers. 

The man was above average height although not excessively tall. He was well-groomed, mustache and hair cut to flatter his facial features. He glanced over his features, decided that yes- he was attractive by most societal standards, and moved onto what he was wearing. In his experience, clothing told a lot about one’s personality and lifestyle. This man’s clothing was expensive but not flashy. It was obvious from a distance that everything he wore was of good quality and tailored to fit perfectly without being fussy or overwhelming. The clothing itself was what he would call ‘casual’ and the man wore no visible accessories besides a wedding ring that was worn but clean. Overall, he decided, the inspector’s visitor was a wealthy man who was more than aware of his good looks yet, based on the lack of accessories, did not use either of those factors to forcibly influence those around him. Combined with the body posture and lack of response to his father’s presence in the room, the man was both confident and comfortable with himself and his position in society. He most likely had power or connections of his own. 

_ This is a man to watch. He makes his own decisions as he sees fit and likely isn’t afraid to carry them out himself if need be. _

The man approached Nakamori-keibu’s desk and walked around the side, leaning back into the right corner of the room and making himself comfortable there. The girl followed him but went fully around the desk to the inspector, giving him a brief but tight hug and settling herself into the room’s remaining chair at the man’s direction. She appeared to be about his age, 15 or 16 years of age given her height, and given her form of initial contact he assumed that this was Nakamori-keibu’s daughter, Nakamori Aoko. 

He was proven right when the inspector introduced her to them. “Aoko, this is Superintendent General Hakuba and his son Hakuba Saguru. Hakuba-keishi-sokan, my daughter Aoko.”

“Well met my dear.” his father nodded to Nakamori-chan. She responded with a low bow in her seat. His father then turned to the man in the corner. “And you as well Kuroba-san. It’s a pleasure to see you again. I hope you and your wife have been well.”

“We’ve been doing quite well, thank you for asking.” Kuroba-san responded with a smile. 

_ Ah, this is him then. Kuroba Toichi. One of the world’s, if not the best, premier magicians. He’d claimed several recognized achievements and world-renowned awards in his early 20’s and some of his magic tricks remained unsolved to this day. When it came to the art of tricking others Kuroba Toichi was one of the best and according to what his father told him this morning, the world-famous magician was also a world-famous thief.  _

“Well if he arrived with you then this young man here must be Kudo Shinichi. The current Kaitou KID.”

He whipped around in his chair to face the back of the room and the second teenager who’d arrived with Kuroba-san. A teenager he clearly should have been giving all his attention to as soon as he’d entered the office. The thief had a relaxed air about him, his posture showing no signs of concern or worry about being in the police headquarters despite his occupation. His facial expression showed little emotion as well, emphasizing how at ease he was. Both hands were in his pockets which made him appear almost guileless. An intentional gesture he was sure, to fool others into leaving him more room to maneuver if necessary. His clothes were clean and unremarkable. The simple pair of jeans, navy v-neck shirt and jacket were items you would find on any young man wandering the city on a weekend. Despite the fact that he was a very good looking young man the only distinguishing factors about him were the unusual cowlick in his hair and the deep blue color of his eyes. He somehow managed to fade into the background as he wished. Forgotten until he chose to be present.

It made him grit his teeth. This was a young man who could easily disappear. 

“You may call me KID directly if you prefer.” the boy told his father. “I assume after all, that the Kudo information is being kept in the dark from the general public. KID is a little more generic on the streets.”

His father’s smile grew wider. “A perfect example of how you evade capture so easily, but also an excellent point. We will at one point have to decide on something else to call you. For now though, our primary concern lies with a different beast.”

KID raised a single eyebrow, crossing his arms and leaning back against the office wall. The corners of his lips curved up in the barest impression of a smile. “Oh? Do tell. You have me curious.”

His father made himself comfortable in his chair and clasped his hands in front of his chest. “The other day, Nakamori-keibu mentioned something that stuck with me. You’re 16 years old yes?” His father looked at KID who merely raised an eyebrow and gestured for him to continue. The thief apparently was not going to try and refute that fact. “You’ve thus far been unwilling to reveal any details about your… living conditions over the last several years. It’s understandable. Quite understandable. However, you are still a minor and so long as you are in our custody there are a few things that will be mandatory, for the sole fact that we do not have any recorded history for you to dismiss them. The most pressing issue is one that our illustrious Nakamori-keibu actually brought to my attention. When I first heard of it, I found it to be a problem with no single good solution. But I’ve thought long and hard this week and you could say that the answer arrived at my own front door.” 

His father said the last line proudly, like the joke should provide some insight into this mysterious problem he hadn’t actually named yet. Unfortunately, no one else in the room, himself included, appeared to have the slightest clue what he was talking about. 

Nakamori-keibu voiced his thoughts aloud. “I’m afraid I don’t understand sir. What does that mean?”

His father leaned back in his chair and said, “The problem I spoke of earlier came about from a comment you made early this week. You were saying about how it was a shame that we couldn’t get KID some face-to-face time with other children his own age. I believe your exact words were something along the line of ‘If he had friends of his own or something to occupy him maybe he’d stop pranking my men so much’. This happened to fall in line with something a Division 1 officer, Takagi-keiji, mentioned. He’d wondered what kind of education KID had received to pull off some of his more recent stunts. The resolution to both of these troubles lies in a single entity: school.”

Nakamori-keibu’s eyes bulged out of his head. “ _ WHAT?! _ ”, they yelled in unison.

_ School? Father  _ has _ lost his mind! _

His father looked once again to KID. “To put it simply my boy, you are a teenager with no background or records. We have no idea what kind of schooling or education you’ve had thus far and it really doesn’t matter. You may be out of the age range for compulsory education but as a minor I’m going to have to insist you receive your high school diploma.”

“If you recognize that I’ve passed the compulsory education stage why is it a requirement?”, KID asked dryly.

“Every young man and woman should strive for a good education.” his father stated. “If you want an official reason I would say it’ll prepare you to make a better life for yourself in the future. It has the added benefit of forcing you to be a little more sociable and having you acclimate to others in your own age bracket.” 

KID cocked his head to the side but said nothing, not losing his faint smile. It was as if the teen had no concerns at all with this plan. He had to interject now, before it got anymore out of hand. 

“Father”, he said. “Didn’t you tell me that KID is being contained at the Kuroba’s house so they can watch him? How is that going to work if he is going to school? You can’t have his police guard attend with him and still keep his existence quiet. Someone will find out.” He felt eyes on the back of his head as he spoke. Something about it sent chills down his spine.

His father shook his head. “But that’s already been resolved son. We can arrange to have him placed in the same class as Nakamori-chan. If she doesn’t mind that is.” The Superintendent General looked over to the girl and she quickly shook her head. He continued, “Nakamori-chan can engage him with other classmates and keep him away from bad influences.”

He may have managed to keep from screaming but he couldn’t help but raise his voice. “I’m sure Nakamori-chan is a great influence but be realistic! How is she supposed to keep him from just taking off when he feels like it? She’s not a police officer. When he decides to try and pull something she can’t do anything to stop him!” 

His father frowned at him and turned to give Nakamori-chan an apologetic look. “Of course. It is incredibly kind of Nakamori-chan to help as much as she has already. I’d never make demands of her or suggest she do something she’s uncomfortable with. I’m hurt you’d think me capable of such behavior.”

“I don’t mind helping! It’s not an inconvenience or anything like that!” Nakamori-chan burst out. All of the room’s occupants turned to stare at her and she ducked her head down to hide the redness that was quickly spreading across her cheeks. The effect was… cute. 

_ She’s just as passionate and fiery as I’ve heard. _

“There’s no need for that my dear.” His father spoke gently. “I appreciate everything that you’ve already done for us and can’t possibly ask for more. And we  _ honestly _ don’t need to. As it so happens, there is another candidate who can fill the missing roles my son was so quick to point out.”

His father was speaking in circles.  _ Who is he talking about? _

Kuroba-san opened his mouth to speak but someone beat him to it.

“I won’t do it.” KID said the sentence with the firmness of a commander giving an order. An immovable fact. It appeared he made a connection in his father’s statements no one else had.

Nakamori-keibu finally lost his temper. “Won’t do what! Who is filling what position! What is going on here?!” The inspector roared. 

“KID  _ will _ be attending high school with your daughter. As will my son.” His father announced. The room fell completely silent. He froze in his seat, battered simultaneously with two conflicting emotions. A short wave of bitterness at the lengths his father was going to for a thief and an overwhelming sense of relief that he’d somehow still managed to get exactly where he wanted. He wouldn’t have to fight to get close enough to watch KID, they were putting him  _ in charge _ of the criminal. Although unexpected it was the best outcome he could have asked for.

In the back of his mind he heard Nakamori-keibu questioning the decision and jerked himself back to attention. “This seems like a bad decision.” the inspector warned. 

“Saguru fills the gaps. We agreed that something had to be done about KID. This entire plan was to keep him from living his life in a cage, and locking him away in the Kuroba’s guest room won’t be any better. This solves all of our problems and satisfies the PSB. They were beginning to question if we had an actual action plan for reintegrating KID into society. Saguru has already planned to spend the next year with me and would have had to transfer to a Japanese high school during his stay. It’s not any more trouble to add him and KID to your daughter’s class at the same time and puts a detective, albeit an unofficial one, on KID’s movements when the task force can’t be with him.”

“You’re talking like this is a done deal but you’re forgetting something.” KID cut into the conversation coldly. “You need my cooperation. And I’d rather spend my days in a cage over being followed around by your son. It wouldn’t be anything new anyway.”

He narrowed his eyes at the other teen and spoke in his own defense. “Actually I think that for once my father is on the right track. It’s a good solution. What’s wrong with me?” He internally winced at the time in his voice. He was starting to sound almost whiney which was definitely  _ not _ the first impression he wanted to give the others present. 

KID gave him a once over and then settled for staring at his face. He showed no emotion on his face to give away his feelings but his gaze was assessing, penetrating. Like he not only looked at Saguru but saw  _ through _ him to his actual thoughts and feelings. Like nothing he did would matter because KID could predict his every action and evade it as he pleased. It made him angry. 

KID huffed and crossed his arms. “You said it already. Multiple times in fact. ‘The Kuroba’s are supposed to keep him contained.’ ‘When’ he decides to pull something, not ‘if’ he decides. You’ve already made up your mind about who I am and it’s not a flattering image. You’re not going to be following me as a type of ‘support’ or general guard dog. You’re going to actively challenge every decision I make and actively block me whenever possible. You’ll jump to conclusions. I wouldn’t be surprised if the first time I look at someone too long you have them arrested for conspiracy. Personally I don’t care what your opinion of me is. I see no reason to lower myself to the level of narrow-minded individuals who can’t see what’s staring them in the face. But I’ll be  _ d*mned _ if I sit back and let you rule on every choice I make, and find some sick perversion in twisting them to suit your fantasies.  _ I spent too long dealing with that kind of sh*t and I won’t let it happen again! _ ” KID finished in a near scream, trembling a little with his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Eyes were narrowed into slits and his teeth were barred. 

He watched, completely shell-shocked as his father, Nakamori-keibu, and Kuroba-san pulled the other boy outside the office into the general work area and closed the door behind them. It wasn’t until the door shut that he realized he’d momentarily stopped breathing and his lungs were burning in protest. He took a deep breath and tried to settle himself. KID’s seething distaste and biased criticism had shook him more than he thought possible. 

“He’s been with us for a few weeks now and I’ve never seen him like that before.” A quiet voice floated from behind him. He whittled in his chair to find the inspector's daughter, Nakamori Aoko, looking at him. Her eyes were steadfast and he coughed as he saw some unknown emotion flicker in their depths. He had female acquaintances in England of course but Nakamori-chan was everything he’d heard through police rumors. Dedicated, passionate, and -from what he could tell- caring. She was also… well…  _ very pretty _ . 

He lightly coughed again to clear his throat and said, “I apologize that you had to hear something so uncouth. His tirade was brusque and his language inexcusable.”

“He did seem to take it badly but I hope you don’t hold it against him. I don’t know what the Superintendent General told you about KID but he hasn’t had the easiest time of it. I guess something about your presence here just set him off.” she said, smiling apologetically. 

He couldn’t help but give an affectionate smile. They’d barely begun to converse but she was clearly a compassionate individual. “I don’t take it personally. I consider it a compliment actually. It’s only natural that a criminal would dislike a detective, and if he has a problem with me it only proves that I’m fulfilling my duty.” 

The smile slowly slipped from Nakamori-Chan’s face.  _ Was it something he said? _

“I-I don’t understand?” she said in confusion. “Shouldn’t you be upset at how he described you? He had no right. I mean, to judge you so harshly the first time he met you? He doesn’t know anything about you.”

_ It is sweet of her to be concerned for me when we just met. It looks like my first impression of her was spot on. _

“It does irritate me that KID spoke so frankly about my personality.” he admitted. “It is none of his business how I conduct my duties as a detective and I do contest his accusations that I would arrest an innocent without due diligence. I would certainly collect the necessary evidence before charging someone with a crime. That said, I won’t be so petty as to look to punish him for saying it. After all, at least part of what he claimed was correct.” he told her. “I  _ do _ think he’s reprehensible and should be in jail. I have no intention of...  _ working _ with him or anything of the like as my father so nicely suggested and if I suspect he’s going to try something I won’t hesitate to bring him in with everything at my disposal.”

Nakamori-chan’s eyes grew large. “I-I’m sure you’re overthinking this Hakuba-kun”, she said apprehensively. “I’ve spent some time with him over the last few days and he’s not a terrible person. I think once everything has a chance to calm down he’ll be just like any other teenage boy.” 

He allowed himself a small huff but managed to refrain from saying what he thought of that statement. He had been raised better than to insult a lady after all.  _ It seems she’s spent a decent amount of time with KID if he already started working on making her feel sympathetic towards him. Better nip that in the bud before it progresses any further. _ “I don’t know what KID has told you in the time you’ve undoubtedly spent together but you must keep your reasoning about you. He’s only attempting to fool you and everyone else. Reprobates like him don’t change because they ‘feel like it’, and certainly not because we ask them to nicely. He’s exactly the same blackguard as he was when he stole from the Indian Treasure exhibit in September, when he stole from the Suzuki’s in December, and when he broke into the Tokyo National Museum last month! 

I’m not being undue when I say that it’s only a matter of time before he goes back to his old tricks and tries something. My father may be hopelessly sanguine, and may wish to believe that KID will fortuitously choose to become an asset for the police but it simply isn’t possible. And so long as my father and the other supervisors continue to operate under this misconception it falls to those like you and I to keep watch over the real situation as it develops. I’m afraid in this matter, we can only try to prevent the inevitable before it leads to the ruin of the entire police force.”

He finished his impromptu speech and let the room fall to silence. Nakamori-chan now stared at him completely wide-eyed and he felt it best to give her a few minutes to allow his information to sink in. After a few moments her eyes dropped from his face and stared slightly down and to the left. Her right hand reached out to clutch the desk either for stability or comfort. He began to worry. KID clearly knew how to work the system but he was only a teenager after all. Surely the thief wasn’t smart enough to perform a full psychological analysis and reversal on the inspector’s daughter. Not to the point that she’d have such a hard time accepting the facts. He prepared to ask her if she was feeling alright when she began to speak.

“Hakuba-kun. What has your father actually told you about the current situation with KID?” she asked slowly. “I mean, you didn’t seem at all surprised at his age when we came in and you seem to know something about the basics of the future plan for him but… what did the Superintendent General tell you about the circumstances?”

He tilted his head a bit to the side. “You are correct that I was aware of KID’s age before your arrival. I also understand that he was unexpectedly caught due to outside forces during his last heist which has led him to remain in police custody.” Her eyebrows drew in a bit at that last part but she nodded so he continued. 

“I understand that for reasons that have apparently been deemed acceptable it is a known fact among upper levels of the police force that the original Kaitou KID was in fact Kuroba Toichi and that he has been allowed to remain free without punishment for his crimes in a gross miscarriage of justice. Due to his experience and knowledge he and his wife have been determined to be the best equipped to contain the current KID and they will proceed as his official guardians for the time being while the police enact this ridiculous ‘rehabilitation’ idea.” 

The inspector's daughter was once again looking him in the eye. Only now she looked purely upset. Although her mouth seemed to be drawn a bit tight…

“Personally I think that’s one of the parts that bothers me the most”, he informed her. “Out of all the officers and detectives he could have been placed with, my father and myself included, they chose to leave him with  _ another _ criminal. Someone who could possibly be inclined to help him to escape out of some twisted sense of loyalty since they used the same moniker. Kuroba Toichi is just as bad, if not  _ worse _ , than KID is and there’s far too much potential for Kuroba-san to use the situation to his advantage somehow. There’s no telling what  _ other activities _ the Kuroba’s perform in their spare time and to leave KID in the hands of another felon is…”

“You will  _ not _ talk about the Kuroba’s like that.” Nakamori-chan interrupted suddenly. She glared at him unsparingly and she sounded furious. 

“ _ Ex-Excuse me? _ ...” he stuttered. 

“I was happy when your father introduced you. I thought it was wonderful that I’d have someone to talk to about KID-related events who was my age and would see it from my perspective but I never imagined you’d turn out to be such a-a-a complete ass!” she screamed at him.

“KID was right in his description of you! You could care less about gathering accurate information or evidence on new people you meet because you’re too busy jumping to conclusions!” 

He looked on, completely stunned as her voice steadily built in sound to approach deafening. 

“You have no right to talk about the Kuroba’s that way! You know  _ nothing _ about them. NOTHING! Toichi-ojisan became KID to draw out MURDERS. People who admitted to his face that they took lives whenever necessary and thought nothing of it!”

He scrambled to find his footing in this unexpected conversation. “If he had knowledge of other crimes being committed then he should have gone to the police instead of taking it upon himself to…”

“THE POLICE?!?” she screeched. “They proudly discussed how they had members of the police on their PAYROLL! Tell me,  _ who _ was he supposed to go to? Walk into the police station and demand to speak to your father because he had information on a case he couldn’t disclose to anyone else? When he didn’t know your father from Adam and could be handing himself over to a mole? Was he supposed to trust the first patrol officer or detective he ran into on the street and  _ hope _ they weren’t dirty cops? Toichi-ojisan did the best with the information he had! He performed an act so public and so widely known that when they came to interfere with him and were caught there was no way they could be let off for it! And even then when they showed up they shot at him. He risked his LIFE because he knew they were taking the lives of others and it cost him and Chikage-obasan EVERYTHING. Those monsters killed-” she choked, abruptly ending her last statement as she stumbled backwards towards the wall behind her. A few tears flowed down her cheeks and she stubbornly and harshly wiped them off her face. 

“The Kuroba’s did everything they could.” she stated definitively. Her voice was stone cold. “Maybe it wasn’t the way a law-zealot like yourself would have done but it was the only option he had if he wanted his family to live through it. When he couldn’t do it alone anymore he turned himself into the police and provided them with all the evidence he had.  _ That’s _ why he wasn’t arrested. The police wouldn’t punish him for their own failings. They owed him for doing the job they couldn’t. And as for what the Kuroba’s do in their spare time, I can answer that for you. They’re usually taking care of me. Whenever my father is called into headquarters unexpectedly or has to work long hours I stay with them. And if  _ that _ isn’t enough to alibi them for whatever crimes you think they’ve been committing all these years then the justice system is better off without you. As far as I’m concerned at this moment you don’t hold a candle to Toichi-ojisan and I never want to hear you talk about him like that again.”

She pushed herself off the wall and headed towards the office door, pausing about half-way across the room. She turned back and looked at him like he was dirt beneath her shoes. “Oh. And since your father hasn’t gotten to it yet and you showed no inclination of gathering more information yourself I’ll tell you that KID was kidnapped by  _ real _ felons as a child. He was beaten and tortured by them for years so that he’d do what they wanted. He was captured by the police after one of those felons broke into the last heist and tried to shoot my father. KID took the bullet for him and saved his life. You might want to think about that, before the next time you decide to rant about something you’re clueless about. But feel free to talk to the Superintendent General about your biases. Maybe he’ll make life easier for both of us and remove you from the police detail entirely.”

****  
With that last statement she spun on her heel and left him alone in the office, slamming the door hard behind her. And then it was  _ his _ turn to lean against the desk for support. That was a kind of verbal berate that he’d never been on the receiving end of before. The words she said settled like a pit in his chest and he absentmindedly rubbed at it. It had been such a long time since he’d felt derailed and wronged by his own deductions. He glanced at the clock and hoped that his father finished with KID and hurried back. It seemed he had a lot to ask about when they re-joined each other.   


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hakuba appeared! I apologize to any Hakuba fans, I tried really hard not to villainize Hakuba while emphasizing the 'pompous know-it-all' air he gave off when he was first introduced. He started to redeem himself by the end of this chapter so the next time we see him he won't seem nearly as bad.


	12. An 'Almost' Honest Answer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toichi's POV

He looked up at the sky, silently evaluating their chances of finishing before the rain hit. A sudden burst of cooler wind shifted the odds out of their favor. Chikage handed him his heavier jacket from her side of the car and he gave her a grateful kiss, mindful of the two teens still in the car behind them. He rolled his window up and turned off the car, turning to face the kids. “Alright”, he said. “We filled out some of the paperwork already so this should be a quick trip but there are a few details left to finalize. Hopefully we’ll be in and out and then we can get your school supplies for the new school year.” 

Aoko nodded and gave an enthusiastic “Yes!” while KID made some strangely fluid shoulder jerk. With his bad shoulder. He would have to keep an eye on that. He slipped out of the car and moved to open the door for Chikage as another car pulled into the parking garage next to them. Ginzo joined them on the sidewalk with Hakuba-kun shortly after. The other teenage boy was quiet and, oddly enough, kept his eyes lowered while he gave his greetings. He subtly peered back towards the kids that had ridden with him and his wife and mentally filed their reactions. KID barely huffed out a return greeting, choosing to face the street with a bored expression rather than the two newcomers. Aoko on the other hand was standing rod straight with her chin raised just enough that she appeared to be looking down on Hakuba-kun like a queen would on a particularly wrong-doing peasant… like he was worth even less than the dirt she walked on. Hakuba-kun seemed to huddle a little more into himself when he noticed her. 

_ I knew that there was some bad blood between the two boys the other day in Ginzo’s office but I don’t know what Hakuba-kun could have done to get this kind of reaction from  _ Aoko _. I’d hoped the boys would eventually settle their differences and come to a compromise but if Aoko is being added to the mix… she doesn’t forgive easily when she’s this angry.  _

He shook his head. All he could do is hope the boys reached an agreement and that Hakuba-kun had enough sense to apologize to Aoko. Otherwise, they were in for a rough few months. He made a mental note to ask Aoko about it later and keep an eye on how things progressed. 

“Toichi!” he heard Chikage call. He turned to look behind him and found his wife waiting for them at the side entrance to the building. He reached out to nudge Ginzo and walked up to join her with the kids following close behind. She rapped twice on the door and someone approached on the other side. An older gentleman, face stern but with the wrinkle lines of laughter, opened the door. The man was dressed in a well-fitting suit and he walked with confidence, his arms straight by his side. If he had to guess, he would say this was someone in upper education management, not merely a teacher, with some military service in their background. 

“Welcome. It is a pleasure to see you again Nakamori-keibu, Nakamori-chan. “ The man looked at Aoko with amusement. “I know this is probably the last place you want to spend your school break at, but we’ll try not to take up too much of your time. With that in mind, I see you’ve brought company. I am Takanagi-sensei, the principal of Ekoda High School. You must be the Kuroba’s. It is an honor to make your acquaintance.” Takanagi-sensi held out a hand and he shook it gratefully. The principal seemed like a straightforward man with a good sense of humor. He appreciated that. 

“It is a pleasure to meet you as well.” He said. “We’re grateful you were willing to meet and work through this with us. We know it’s a rather…  _ unusual _ situation.”

Takanagi-sensei hummed and welcomed them into the building. He led the way down a few short hallways to a large but standard-looking office. “We’ve received some interesting students over the years, but I’ll admit that this is the first time I’ve been asked to admit a student with absolutely no educational records, and by the police no less.” They all took seats on couches arranged around a coffee table in front of the principal’s desk, seemingly there for parent meetings and conferences, like this one. The principal offered them all water and sat down to begin what would be a long discussion.

“I’m afraid I do have to ask for some additional information though, regarding the circumstances.” Takanagi-sensei continued, now directing his words to Ginzo. “As I told the Superintendent General over the phone, there is no issue admitting Hakuba-kun to the school as a transfer student, his paperwork is already being processed in fact, but I am going to need some type of information regarding the other new student. I’m afraid as an educational institute we cannot simply place a student in a class without a basis of their intellectual capabilities, especially as you are requesting he be placed in the highest ranking class of his year. As a principal, I also have to take into consideration how this would affect my other students. It does not bode well that the police are the ones inquiring about this matter, and I must be certain that my decision will not put the other children at risk.”

Ginzo nodded. “We understand your concerns and we arranged this meeting to go through them. To be clear though, I’m afraid this matter involves an active and ongoing police investigation so we cannot give you all of the details.” Ginzo warned.

Takanagi-sensei sighed and leaned back in his seat. “What details  _ can _ you provide?” the principal asked. 

“The teenager in question witnessed a crime in progress by a rather secretive yakuza group. They have been on the police’s radar for some time but we have yet to identify them. The boy should be able to make a positive identification but the group is aware there was a witness, and is currently looking for him. He is staying with the Kuroba’s while the police sort everything out and we didn’t want to let his education fall behind.” Ginzo delivered their cover story straight-faced with a stoicism that belayed his title as police inspector. 

Takanagi-sensei grew concerned. “Is there a chance this group would come after him at the school?”

“No.” Ginzo adamantly responded. “At the moment we have no reason to believe they would physically be looking for him in any area outside police custody. We simply don’t want his history on file in case they perform a digital search. We have made arrangements for some plain-clothes officers to be stationed nearby, to stand watch for trouble, and if the situation changes at any point we will inform you immediately.”

Takanagi-sensei stroked his chin with one hand, thinking it over. Internally he sighed. It didn’t look good, the principal was probably going to politely refuse them given the risks involved. He couldn’t blame him but it still made things more difficult for them. They would have to try homeschooling KID and hope for the best. Perhaps the police could think of another way for KID to have some social interaction. 

Finally Takanagi-sensei lowered his hand and looked over at KID, the only person he didn’t know in the room. “I recognize Hakuba-kun from his paperwork photo so I assume you are the young man in question. May I have your name?”

Name.  _ His name _ . He’d told KID about the cover story the police had decided on for school but they’d never given him an alternate name to use. They hadn’t really thought about it since no one used KID’s real name, but if someone went around using the identity ‘Kudo Shinichi’, even if it was just the name, people would quickly catch on and it would be plastered all over the media in no time. Exactly what they wanted to avoid. 

He glanced subtly at Ginzo. His friend looked calm but he could tell the man was panicking internally.  _ Sh*t. The police hadn’t thought about this either _ . 

Because of this, he was as surprised as Ginzo when KID actually answered.

“Doito Katsuki. My name is Doito Katsuki. Nice to meet you.” KID said quietly. He looked… shy? Was something about this setting bothering him or was he merely acting the way a normal teenager would in these events?

“I wish it was under better circumstances.” Takanagi-sensei replied. The principal gave KID a noticeable look-over. “Tell me about yourself.”

KID looked at him questioningly. 

“In my experience, you only obtain the truth by going to the source. If you want to predict a student’s behavior it is best to ask them directly for an honest answer than believing hearsay.” Takanagi-sensei informed him. 

KID clasped his hands in front of him and thought it over. “My classmates either love me or hate me, and my teachers don’t know how to handle me other than just going along for the ride and hoping for the best. My school work is always flawless and turned in on-time but I tend to cause distractions both in and out of class. I can talk for hours in complete circles about nothing or I can remain silent plotting world domination. I’m loud, spontaneous, and unpredictable.” He finally said.

Takanagi-sensei raised an eyebrow. “That’s not exactly the best description to give when you’re trying to convince someone to admit you to a high school.”

KID shrugged. “I recognize and accept my flaws. You should know what you would be getting into. I am a firm believer in forewarning.”

Ginzo barely stopped himself from doing a ‘spit-take’ but still ended up coughing erratically. He agreed.  _ Dear god. Was KID  _ actually _ injecting references to his ‘night job’ right now? His description definitely wasn’t helping their case either! _

Then, Takanagi-sensei laughed. “Well that was certainly refreshing. I’m so used to high school students denying their mistakes that I never imagined I’d meet one so brutally honest and self-critical. Though, if that’s the worst of your personality we’ll be fine. You wouldn't be the first trouble-making teen this school has suffered and you won’t be the last. Can you promise not to interfere with your teacher’s lessons and that your antics will never harm either your fellow students or any staff members?”

“I won’t agree that I’ll never interrupt class or cause chaos, but I can promise to try and limit it.” KID replied. “As for the other matter, I abhor violence. You could say it’s an inbred trait. I take great care to ensure nothing I’m responsible for leads to any real harm.”

“I should just take your word for it?” Takanagi-sensei asked.

“My word is my law. When I make a promise I keep it.” KID told him seriously.

The two stared at each other for several long moments and the silence was deafening. Finally, Takanagi-sensei seemed to find something he was looking for and nodded. The principal looked to Ginzo. “He’s going to need a placement exam so we can arrange for additional tutoring, if he needs it, to keep up with the rest of the class. I can’t allow the teacher to slow down the other students’ studies for a single individual. The Dean of Students is down the hall in the Teacher’s Room, I’ll page him and request he prepares a copy. Doito-kun can take it before you leave today.”

He stared at the principal. He couldn’t believe this was happening, it had really seemed like Takanagi-sensei would turn them down.

“I will also need to speak with his parents to confirm they approve of this. Can you arrange that?” the principal asked.

“My home life is… not ideal.” KID told him. “My parents were not very involved with my early years for various reasons and have little to do with my well-being now. It’s what led to me roaming the streets so late at night and caused all of this in the first place. That’s why the police named the Kuroba’s my temporary guardians. They are to handle any important decisions for the time being.” KID said.

“I see. I apologize for my thoughtlessness.” Takanagi-sensei said.

“No need. It’s just how it is. I learned to live with it a long time ago.” KID told him. 

He winced and decided to never mention this conversation to Yusaku and Yukiko. They would not be able to handle hearing this, it would break their hearts. Despite his personal feelings about it though, he couldn’t deny that KID’s performance would make things easier for them in the future. The principal definitely believed KID’s fake backstory and, whether through pity or intrigue, had taken an interest in KID and his well-being. The principal being understanding of the circumstances would certainly help him accept other aspects about KID’s past and personality that they couldn’t explain. He only hoped KID would behave and not give anyone cause to look into his history too much. 

Takanagi-sensei called the Dean of Students, who appeared almost immediately, to take the teenagers down the hall for a quick placement test. As KID and Hakuba-kun took the test (with Aoko-chan and Chikage staying to watch) he returned to the office with the other adults to work on the enrollment paperwork. Well, he filled out paperwork anyway. Ginzo spent most of the time discussing added security and checkpoints with Takanagi-sensei. He sighed and fought to keep from smiling.  _ Ginzo always had hated paperwork after all. _

As Ginzo finalized the details for an undercover police presence on the grounds during school hours, Takanagi-sensei brought up a point he seemed to have been dwelling over for some time. “This is not meant to be an insult to the police force in any way, but normally a simple witness testimony does warrant this much police reaction, regardless of the amount of gang activity or the witness’s home life. I recognize that there are details you cannot share about the investigation, but I have to conclude that the incident Doito-kun witnessed was a bit more involved than you let on. Additionally, Doito-kun’s description of his home life prior to this has given me concerns about his personal health through this process. If what he witnessed was… traumatic there may be rather serious effects if he does not speak with a professional.”

He blinked. It seemed the principal was extremely perceptive in his own right, and he did bring up some issues that they had grossly overlooked. 

“To be honest we were hoping that providing him with stability and normalcy would eliminate his fears and allow us to work directly on the cause. We hadn’t considered that it may be more serious than that.” Ginzo admitted. “I can assure you though, we will arrange counseling sessions with our trauma therapist. If he is developing any mental health issues we will do our best to address it.”

Takanagi-sensei nodded. “I understand that home-placements for teenagers aren't in your typical job duties Nakamori-keibu but I can tell you are making every effort to make this work. If you need any aid or resources please don’t hesitate to ask. We may not see much crime, but we do take charge of teenagers and their relative problems and would make every effort to advise you where we can.”

“We appreciate it.” He told the principal. “Our greatest concern here is K-Doito-kun’s well-being and we don’t want to risk his health in any way.” He looked down at the form in front of him. “Moving to a different topic, what identification do I have to list here?”

Takanagi-sensei went over the form with him. Surprisingly, after that the paperwork didn’t take nearly as long to finish as he would’ve expected and once the principal looked it all over, they found themselves moving to other conversation topics to pass the time until the others returned. As it turned out, Takanagi-sensei was a devout Tokyo Spirits fan and was more than happy to discuss stats and recent player trades with Ginzo. He did not have as much interest himself, but it was certainly amusing to hear the two go at it with such enthusiasm, especially when the discussion turned to a rookie player they disagreed on. The debate was still on-going when the Dean of Students led the others back into the room. Chikage was cackling and all of the color had drained from the Dean’s face. 

“Kondo-sensei?” Takanagi-sensei asked. “Is everything alright?”

Kondo-sensei visibly swallowed and said, “I-It appears that there will be no issue with the boys keeping up with their classes.” The Dean handed a piece of paper, likely the test results, and moved back to the wall by the children. 

Chikage giggled and walked across the room to join him on the couch. “You missed a great time dear. It was an absolute marvel to watch.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “A marvel huh?” He asked curiously. From the Dean’s words it seemed KID was intelligent, which fit right in with what they knew of Kudo Shinichi prior to his disappearance, but that wouldn’t be enough to warrant Chikage’s reaction. Idly, he wondered if it was a mistake to let KID leave with only his wife for supervision. She could be easily swayed to side with ‘fun and interesting’ over ‘reason’. He turned to face her and tilted his head towards Kondo-sensei in question. She understood exactly what he wanted to know, based on the acknowledgement in her eyes, and leaned in to him. 

“We’re going to have a great time with this one.” she whispered. “In fact, I’d go as far as suggesting we share custody with the Kudo’s when everything’s resolved. I don’t think Yukiko would mind letting us have him a few weekends a year.”

He smiled warmly at her. He still had his concerns but that was another point in KID’s favor. Usually, the only person who could provoke those levels of maternal feelings in his wife was Aoko, who they had known since her early childhood. “Should I be concerned?” he asked teasingly. 

Chikage quietly snorted. “You shouldn’t, but Ginzo might. I wasn’t the only one seriously impressed.”

He looked to the teens, still standing along the back wall by Kondo-sensei, and immediately noticed what she meant. It had been a few minutes since the others returned to the office but Aoko was  _ still _ staring at KID, rather blatantly, with unrestrained awe. It was by no means the type of expression you’d see on a teenager for romantic interest, but it was a far cry from her original, merely sympathetic feelings about KID. Hakuba-kun on the other hand, looked torn between reluctantly impressed and horrified with KID. It was hard to tell if the young detective wanted to congratulate his fellow student or flee the room. Ginzo noticed as well, giving the kids a nervous glance while re-filling his cup.

Takanagi-sensei finished reading over the results and looked at KID. “Well Doito-kun, it appears I don’t have to be concerned with your grades at all. I may actually have to be concerned with the opposite, that we may not be prepared to provide you with the education you need. It’s been a while since we’ve had a certifiable genius attending this institution.”

Ginzo spit out his mouthful of water. “E-Excuse me!” he managed to choke out, setting his cup down. “What are we talking about here?!”

“My IQ of course!” KID interjected, more than happy to brag about his abilities. 

“It’s very high, I take it?” he asked dryly, trying to help Ginzo. 

“It’s 400.” KID stated proudly. He swore Ginzo’s jaw hit the floor. His might have too, if he hadn’t clamped it shut instead. 

“Now wait a minute!” Hakuba-kun yelled. “I’ll admit you possess a larger than normal intellect but I won’t accept you making up numbers.” 

“I didn’t make it up.” KID told him smugly. “Unlike typical IQ tests I factored in the amount of time it took me to reach the correct answer as a function of your response times and Aoko-chan’s. It’s not  _ my _ fault I completed the test in less than half the time you did. Maybe you’re just not as smart as you think you are.” 

_ Alright. He was starting to see what Chikage found so entertaining. He was also a little concerned about the effectiveness of those security measures they’d just discussed, they might be fine from the outside-in but what about the inside-out? _

“Alright, stop teasing him.” Aoko sighed. “We get it, you’re a genius. Give him some time to come to terms with it, you don’t have to rub it in.” Hakuba-kun looked at her rather hopefully. She huffed and crossed her arms.  _ She’s still upset with him it seems. _

Takanagi-sensei only smiled and filed KID’s results with the rest of his new paperwork. “Officially, I’ll see all three of you again in a few days when the new term begins, but allow me to be the first to welcome you to Ekoda High School. I look forward to seeing you all in class and hope that you feel comfortable reaching out to myself, Kondo-sensei, or your teacher with any questions and concerns you may have.” 

Takanagi-sensei and Kondo-sensei walked them out of the building and bid them goodbye. The weather had turned colder, the sky now overcast with the wind still coming in short bursts, but the rain had stopped and they made it to their vehicles still dry. As Ginzo turned towards his car he stopped and looked back at KID. “I have to say, you did a good job in there.” he told him. “It may have been a severe oversight on our part but we weren’t prepared to provide a full background for you on the spot and you kept just enough hints of the truth for us to remember the story.”

“Well, I  _ am _ a master of disguise. Creating characters is part of the job description.” KID waved him off. 

Ginzo hummed. “Does the name belong to an actual person you’ve impersonated before? You came up with it rather quickly.”

He couldn’t help but smile and looked at his friend. “Ginzo, don’t you realize where the name came from?”

“What are you talking about? You do?” Ginzo asked.

“‘Doito Katsuki’ is an anagram of ‘Kaitou KID’.” he told him. “He basically gave the school his real identity.”

Ginzo stared at him for a moment and then stared at KID for a moment longer. Then he cursed, loudly and violently. He was still muttering under his breath when they finally got back home a few hours later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter filler chapter this time. Sorry this took so long, next chapter will get back to plot.


End file.
